Novak Djokovic looks set to skip the prestigious ATP Finals in Turin this year after publicly admitting he is cutting down his tennis schedule. The Serbian won the title for an unprecedented seventh time in 2023 when he beat Holger Rune in the final, moving him clear of great rival Roger Federer’s tally of six.
The 37-year-old is currently in Bulgaria when he took on Grigor Dimitrov on Tuesday night in an entertaining exhibition match in Sofia.
In a clash that raised funds for his opponent’s foundation, Djokovic appeared to have fun as both went shirtless during the match, with the 24-time Grand Slam winner later serenading the crowd, and his opponent, with a song on the microphone after losing a deciding set tie-break.
He opted to take on Dimitrov instead of accepting a place with Team Europe at the Laver Cup in Berlin this week. He also turned down an invite to play a competition in the Far East, although is still scheduled to appear in the Shanghai Masters 1000 event that starts on October 2.
And in his pre-match press conference in Bulgaria this week, Djokovic surprisingly revealed that the event in Asia may be his last competitive one on the tour in 2024. “For the first time in my career, I don’t have any long-term plans,” he said.
“I live in the moment and I’ll see what happens. Today I’m going to play in Sofia against Grigor, then in China, and then in an exhibition tournament in Saudi Arabia. After that, I don’t know. We’ll see how I feel and we’ll judge.”
Despite failing to land a single Grand Slam title this year, Djokovic won the one major title that had previously alluded him in his illustrious career. He won Olympic gold in Paris and after that triumph wants to spend more time away from the circuit.
“Family life is very important to me,” he continued. “I want to be with my wife and children, to be part of their daily lives, which I haven’t been able to do for many years.”
Djokovic has become synonymous with the ATP Finals, considered the most significant tournament in the men’s annual calendar outside of the four majors. It features the top eight singles players and top eight doubles teams from throughout the season, with the all time great first prevailing in 2008.
He later won four consecutive titles from 2012 to 2015, before further successes in 2022 and then last season. But despite his Olympic glory, Djokovic has also been plagued by injury this year, another potential reason for him shutting down his campaign prematurely.
At the French Open in May, he was forced to withdraw at the quarter-final stage after tearing his medial meniscus in his right knee. And ahead of the US Open, he claimed to be struggling with fitness “issues” despite still participating at Flushing Meadows.
