Novak Djokovic reveals his ‘priority’ as Goran Ivanisevic confirms schedule tweaks

Shahida Jacobs 12 Sep 2023 11:47 AM

Novak Djokovic relishes the challenge at the US Open

Novak Djokovic completed yet another glorious Grand Slam campaign on Sunday with another successful run at the US Open and now the Serbian has one big goal remaining for the 2023 season.

The tennis great cemented his legacy as the most decorated player of all time as he won a record-extending 24th major with a superb win over Daniil Medvedev in the final at Flushing Meadows, notching up his Slam of the year following successes at the Australian Open and French Open.

With the four majors out of the way, there are only a handful of big tournaments remaining namely the Davis Cup, Shanghai Masters, Paris Masters and ATP Finals.

The Davis Cup Finals Group stage is next on the agenda and Djokovic has confirmed he will make his return to the team tournament following a short hiatus as he missed the 2022 edition.

Serbia will face hosts Spain, the Czech Republic and South Korea in Valencia this coming week.

Djokovic, though, has made it clear that his main aim for the remainder of 2023 is to not only help Serbia qualify for the Davis Cup Finals Knockout stage that will run from November 20-26 in Malaga, Spain, but to win the title.

“Right now, I just want to enjoy the success for a few days because I’m playing for Serbia in Davis Cup. I’m not going to play on Tuesday, but I’ll play on Friday and Saturday,” he is quoted as saying by Tennis Majors.

“Davis Cup is my priority until the end of the season.”

Serbia and Novak Djokovic’s Davis Cup record

Serbia were knocked out in the Davis Cup Group stage last year while they reached the semi-final in 2021. The last time they reached the final was in 2013 when they finished runners-up to the Czech Republic in Belgrade after losing 3-2.

The European nation won their only Davis Cup title in 2010 with Djokovic spearheading the team to a 3-2 win over France in Belgrade.

As for Djokovic’s record in the team tournament, he has played a total of 45 singles matches with his win-loss record 38-7 while in doubles he is 4-6.

Novak Djokovic’s schedule for the rest of 2023

Once the Davis Cup Group phase is out of the way, the world No 1 will take an extended break and his coach Goran Ivanisevic has confirmed that he will in all likelihood skip the Asian swing.

It means he won’t feature at the Shanghai Masters – which returns to the ATP calendar after a three-year absence due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He is only expected to play in the Paris Masters from October 30 as the ATP 1,000 event will be used as a warm-up event for the season-ending ATP Finals (November 12-19).

If Serbia qualify for the Davis Cup Finals Knockout stage, then Djokovic will bring his season to an end in Spain.