Will the world of tennis be seeing less of Novak Djokovic on the Tour outside of the Grand Slam tournaments following his latest triumph?
The world No.1 has hinted that he will be making adjustments to his goals in the sport after claiming his 18th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open on Sunday. Besides extending his record as the most decorated male player in history at the Melbourne major, Djokovic has also boosted his position at the top of the rankings. When the standings are updated on Monday he will lead Nadal by more than 2000 points as he is set to surpass Roger Federer next month for most weeks spent at world No.1 in the history of men’s tennis.
Beating Federer’s 310-week record is a boost for the Djokovic camp but it could also be a blow for many lower-level tennis tournaments. Speaking to reporters in Melbourne, the 33-year-old admits that he is set to change his calendar with the focus being solely on the Grand Slams. Meaning there is a strong chance he will play less events overall throughout the season.
“After achieving the historic No.1 (record) for the longest weeks at No. 1, it’s going to be a relief for me because I’m going to focus all my attention on slams mostly.” he told reporters.
“When you are going for the No.1 ranking, you kind of have to be playing the entire season and you have to be playing well, you have to play all the tournaments.’
“My goals will adapt and will shift a little bit, which means that I will have to adjust also my calendar.”
The decision to focus on the majors comes as the Serbian chases after the all-time record of 20 which is currently held by rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Hence his desire to focus on the big events. On top of that, Djokovic admits that a desire to spend more time with his family and the ongoing pandemic are influencing his plans for the future.
“Judging by what we’re seeing around the world, having family on the road with me will be a very difficult task because if I’m going to travel around, I have to take my coaches and everything,” he said.
“We (the Tour) have rules in place that don’t allow really more people than I think two people at the tournaments to travel with you, other than slams. So I’ll have to wait and see what my schedule is going to look like. I haven’t made any commitments after Australia.”
Perhaps another wake up call for Djokovic is his recent misfortunes on the Tour after suffering an injury midway through the Australian Open. For the first time on Sunday he confirmed that he has been suffering from a tear in the abdominal oblique muscle.
There has been no confirmation as to where Djokovic will be playing next or what lies ahead for him in 2021. However, he has set out what the goal is for the remainder of his record-breaking career.
“Whether I think about winning more slams and breaking records, of course. Of course, I do. And most of my attention and my energy from this day forward, until I retire from tennis, is going to be directed in the majors, trying to win more major trophies,” Djokovic concluded.
