Novak Djokovic’s rankings nightmare becomes a reality after Taylor Fritz win at US Open
Novak Djokovic would have backed himself to seal his place in the ATP Finals with a deep run at the US Open, but the defending champion may now miss the prestigious end-of-season tournament in Turin.
After Taylor Fritz finally ended his quarter-final hoodoo in Grand Slams by reaching the last four of the US Open, Djokovic’s hopes of qualifying for the lucrative ATP Finals took a hammer blow.
Fritz beat Alexander Zverev 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3) in a thrilling battle, as he admitted his agony in previous Grand Slam quarter-finals made his joy at finally breaking through all the more exhilarating.
“I feel amazing, I have had a lot of looks at quarter-finals over the last few years and today just felt different,” he said.
“I really felt like it was my time to go a step further. It’s only fitting I’m doing it here on this court at the Open in front of this crowd.”
The win against Zverev put Fritz in pole position to finish the US Open as America’s No 1 player, but it also added to Djokovic’s challenge as he looks to play in another ATP Finals.
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Djokovic has won the showpiece event at the end of the ATP Tour season on a record-breaking seven occasions and was in dominant form as e closed out 2023 with another win in the ATP Finals.
The top eight players in the ATP Race rankings qualify for the ATP Finals, with Djokovic the first player to qualify for the event on numerous occasions during his dominant career.
Yet he is down in ninth place in this year’s ATP Race, which calculates the ranking points from the calendar year.
Fritz is now up to No 7 in the Race to Turin, with Australia’s Alex de Minaur also ahead of Djokovic in the current rankings after his strong run at the US Open.
Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev are certain to qualify for the ATP Finals, with Daniil Medvedev, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev also ahead of Djokovic.
The Serbian is currently sitting at No 9 in the ATP Race list and while he would be well placed to secure his place in Turin if he was playing a full schedule, his lack of desire to play lower-level tournaments could end his hopes of defending his ATP Finals title.
Djokovic has been entered into the Shanghai Masters next month, but it’s unclear whether he will make the decision to fly to China to take part in that part of the ATP Tour season for the first time since 2019.
He is also due to play in the Paris Masters, where 1,000 ATP ranking points will be up for grabs, but he may need to win that tournament to have a chance to reach the ATP Finals unless he enters a few more tournaments.
Djokovic has openly admitted he has struggled to find motivation to play in events other than Grand Slams at this stage of his career, but he may need to do that if he is to keep his hopes of appearing at the ATP Finals alive.
In the opinion of super coach Patrick Mouratoglou, Djokovic’s dwindling motivation will be a big factor in what comes next in his career, as he suggests his Olympic gold medal may be one of his last great achievements.
“He showed at the start of the season that he was human,” Mouratoglou told Tennis365 ahead of the UTS Grand Final in London in December.
“I felt that he had a real motivation issue at the start of the season, especially when he saw that Rafa was struggling so much and might not be coming back.
“At the start of this season, it was almost as if Novak felt like the game was over because Rafa was struggling so much and it looked like it would be very difficult for him to come back to the top.
“I think this killed his motivation a little. One of the big motivations of his career was to have more Grand Slams than the two others and he has done that now.
“Then the Olympics come along and this prize that he has never lifted was there for him and his motivation came back. In such a short period of time, he was able to play at his best again.
“For him, it is all going to be about finding the motivation from this point forward. The tennis is there, he is there physically, but it is all about how much he wants to continue.”
If Djokovic opts against playing in Shanghai, he will face an uphill battle to qualify for the ATP Finals and at that point, he might even decide to call time on his 2024 season and prepare for a fresh push next year.
