Where will Novak Djokovic be ranked at the Australian Open?
Novak Djokovic has spent much of the past decade at the top of the tennis rankings, but his days as the No 1 in men’s tennis are over.
The Serbian maestro finished last year at the top of the ATP Rankings, ending the year with victory at the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals as he confirmed he was still the man to beat on the men’s tour.
He won three of the four Grand Slam titles last year and looked set to defy the sands of time by continuing to fend off the next generation of stars.
Yet 2024 proved to be the year when Djokovic’s dominance ended, as Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz shared the four Grand Slam titles and the only tournament won by the Serbian was the Olympic Games in Paris.
The 37-year-old Serbian great has also confirmed he is struggling to find motivation to play in events outside of the Grand Slams and he confirmed as much by skipping this week’s Paris Masters.
As Djokovic won that tournament last year, he loses the 1,000 ranking points he collected in Paris a year ago and there are also suggestions that he will not play at the ATP Finals, even if he qualifies for the event in Turin.
That would see another 1,300 ranking points falling off his record in the final month of this tennis season, which could leave him down in seventh, eighth or even ninth place in the end-of-year rankings.
That could be significant for the opening Grand Slam of 2025, as it could mean he faces Sinner or Alcaraz as early as the quarter-finals in Melbourne.
Djokovic was beaten by Sinner in the semi-finals at this year’s Australian Open and if he was to go out early in Melbourne, his ranking could slide to outside the top 10 and that would mean he could face the biggest names in the game early in next year’s Grand Slams.
That may focus Djokoviv’s mind on whether he wishes to carry on in the sport, but celebrated coach Patrick Mouratoglou has told this website that the Serbian could still stun his rivals and win big titles next year.
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Speaking exclusively to Tennis365 ahead of the UTS Grand Final in London in December, Serena Williams’ former coach suggested writing off the all-time greats is a dangerous game.
“I think he had a very bad year, but it came after an incredible year,” Mouratoglou told Tennis365.
“Let’s not forget that only last year he won three Grand Slams and played in the final of the other. So we shouldn’t forget that was just one year ago, not ten years ago, just one year ago.
“He won the Olympics which was his main focus this year, beating Carlos in the final, playing fantastic tennis, so he is not far away.
“I think he can beat them (Sinner and Alcaraz). It’s very hard, there was a lot of margin before, but now there is none.
“When he plays them I think anyone can win, but I don’t think he’s far behind. I think he can still win Grand Slams, I’m sure about it.”
Djokovic has insisted he still believes he can add to his collection of major titles, with Mouratoglou stressing the drive to push for more is the biggest threat to the former world No 1 in the final phase of his career after his big rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal retired.
“For Novak, it’s only about his motivation,” added Mouratoglou.
“I understand that he struggles with it at the moment because all his career was about beating the other two and being better than them, that was the fight of his life in tennis and he won.
“So to keep his motivation now, it’s very difficult. ow that Rafa is retiring, the whole year that was the problem, that’s how I see it, I don’t know if I’m right, but this year for Novak was tough.
“This is because from the start of the season, you could see that Rafa was struggling so much and probably came to his mind, well I won.
“When you fight all your life for something and you finally get it, where do you find the motivation?
“So I hope this difficult year is something he will be able to use to feed his motivation and come back next year as good as the previous one because then we’ll have a fight between those three that is going to be unbelievable and I want to see it.”
The UTS Grand Final will be played at London’s Copper Box from December 6-8.
