Is the era of men’s tennis legend Novak Djokovic (Serbia) coming to an end?
Djokovic gave up participating in the ATP Tour Finals, the last tournament of the season.
Djokovic wrote on his social networking service (SNS) on the 6th (local time), “I was really looking forward to going to Turin, Italy, but it has become difficult for me to participate in the game due to persistent injuries.” The exact location and condition of the injury were not disclosed.
This competition is the final match of the season with a king-of-the-match style in which the top eight players in the world rankings are eligible to participate every year. Djokovic recently increased his number of Finals championships to 7 by winning this tournament for the second time in a row, surpassing Roger Federer (Switzerland, retired, 6 times) to have the most titles.
In men’s tennis, the ‘Big 3’ era of Federer, Rafael Nadal (Spain), and Djokovic has continued for about 20 years since the early 2000s. That’s right, there is no business in time. Federer, who was evaluated as the ‘King of the Court’ in 2022, put down his racket, and Rafael Nadal (Spain) announced his retirement this year, leaving only Djokovic now. The three are currently in the top three on the list of men’s singles major championships with the most wins (Djokovic 24 times, Nadal 22 times, and Federer 20 times).
Djokovic, who maintained a steep rise until recently by winning three times in four major tournaments in the season in 2021 and 2023, also shows a clear decline. Djokovic performed well this year with 37 wins in 46 games, but the number of competitions he participated in decreased significantly.
Djokovic achieved the career golden grand slam (four major tournaments + Olympic gold medal) by winning the gold medal in men’s singles at the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, the tour failed to add a title. It was the first time since 2005 that Djokovic ended a season without a tour title. It has been 7 years since 2017 that he has not been able to win a trophy in one of the four major tournaments.
“I don’t compete to win the ATP Finals or to be ranked in the world,” Djokovic said recently. As he enters his late 30s, physical strength and injury management become more difficult, so he will focus on winning the Grand Slam rather than competing in many tournaments to prolong his career. Previously, Federer and Nadal also went through the same process. Djokovic is expected to prepare for the Australian Open, the first major tournament of the season, which opens in January next year.
This is the first time since 2001 that the ATP Tour Finals without the ‘big three’ of Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic are all missing. Meanwhile, as Djokovic decided not to participate, the top 8 to participate in the tournament were finally confirmed. World No. 1 Annique Sinner (Italy), Carlos Alcaras (Spain), Alexander Zverev (Germany), Daniil Medvedev (Russia), Taylor Fritz (USA), Kasper Ruud (Norway), and Alex Demino ( Australia) and Andrey Rublev (Russia) will participate.
