close
close

Mondor Festival

News with a Local Lens

Novak Djokovic significantly improved his ranking ahead of the Australian Open
minsta

Novak Djokovic significantly improved his ranking ahead of the Australian Open

Novak Djokovic has received a big boost heading into the first Grand Slam of 2025, as he appears to be on track to crack the top eight in the ATP rankings for the first major tournament of the new year.

Djokovic will travel to Melbourne in January to attempt to win a remarkable 11th Australian Open title, but much remains to be seen whether he will have the desire and fire in his heart to compete with young Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz during the final phase. of his career.

Sinner and Alcaraz shared the 2024 Grand Slam titles, with the former winning the Australian Open and US Open titles and the latter winning the French Open and Wimbledon.

Djokovic has only played a limited schedule this year, with his focus on winning the gold medal at the Olympics rewarded by beating Alcaraz in a thrilling final in Paris.

He has made it clear that he will continue to play a reduced tournament schedule next year, which could impact his ranking ahead of the Australian Open.

If Djokovic falls outside the top eight in the rankings, he could be drawn against Sinner or Alcaraz as early as the fourth round of next year’s first major tournament.

While this may not necessarily impact Djokovic’s ambitions, he may not want to meet a top rival in an event as he perhaps looks to bolster his form after a long spell away of the land.

Yet that prospect looks set to be avoided, as a trio of defeats for Andrey Rublev and Alex de Minaur at the ATP Finals in Turin should guarantee Djokovic a top-eight spot for the Australian Open.

This would ensure he cannot meet Sinner or Alcaraz before the quarter-finals in Melbourne, with his desire to shine in 2025 underlined by his comments in a recent interview with La Nacion.

“Deep down, I feel that I still have Grand Slam tournaments to win” he said. “What still pushes me to compete, especially in Grand Slams, is the feeling that I can be a candidate to win it. And also for my country. I love playing the Davis Cup for Serbia

“When I have to motivate myself, there are two things: the first is to continue to believe that I have the ability to continue to fight for the majors and win them.

News Novak Djokovic

ATP Finals: the 6 men who have reached the most finals – ft. Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic

The 5 oldest champions of the ATP Finals: Novak Djokovic appears twice, Roger Federer third

“And second: tennis remains my biggest platform to do other things that interest me and share the messages that interest me, whether they are related to tennis, to society, to a business that I have, something that seriously builds my legacy, my brand.

“I still feel like I’m enjoying the process and it’s generating all these benefits for me, so why not do it? Some people think I should retire from tennis at the top. Some people think I should continue as long as I think I can be the favorite for a Grand Slam. I think more of them.

“Maybe I’ll change my mind, I don’t know. For now, I want to continue. How much longer?

“Traveling and finding motivation is becoming more and more difficult for me. It’s not easy. And even less with children. I don’t want to be away from home that long, but I still have the wheel.

“So I feel sorry for those who want me to retire because they will have to see me for a while longer.”

The fire may be flickering in Djokovic’s heart as he looks to add one last touch to his tennis legacy, but you write off the most successful player of all time at your peril.

READ NEXT: Novak Djokovic’s astonishing statistic puts Jannik Sinner’s emotional celebrations into perspective