Heading into the US Open without any match practice since his stinging straight-sets semi-finals defeat to world no. 1 Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon in early July, 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic has elaborated on his changing priorities as an ageing professional while also criticising other top players on their silence over the burgeoning tennis calendar, crammed with newly-styled two-week Masters events.
’12 Grand Slams in a year’
Djokovic, 38, who has been on the run for a historic 25th Slam since his US Open win in 2023, voiced his displeasure about having to contend with nearly a dozen Slam-level events a year.
“To be quite frank with you, I don’t enjoy the two-week Masters events.. I’d like to play more of the other tournaments, but we have currently, unofficially, 12 Grand Slams a year when you think about it. I mean, a Grand Slam is two weeks and the other Masters events are almost two weeks as well,” Djokovic told reporters in New York ahead of his US Open first-round match on Sunday.
Djokovic questioned the silence from the top players while the proposal and decisions for two-week events were being made outside the Slams.
“I have noticed that a lot of top players have been quite opposing the new change of the almost two-week Masters events. I support the players, but at the end of the day, when the players needed to be active and when there was a time of negotiations and decision-making, players weren’t participating enough.
“This is an ongoing story of the players, particularly top players. They express their feelings, but then when you really need to put in the time and the energy into conversations, meetings, which I know it’s very difficult. I have been there, trust me, many times. But it’s necessary because then, you know, you’re doing something not only for yourself but for future generations, and you’re making the right moves, the right steps and contributing,” the Serb added.
‘Cold in terms of matches..’
Though he admitted to turning up ‘cold’ at Flushing Meadows without match practice, Djokovic aligned his stance to his changing priorities. “[I may be] ‘cold’ in terms of the matches, official matches… but I have put in a lot of training in last three, four weeks. I decided not to play because I wanted to spend more time with my family,” he explained.
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“I’m not chasing the ranking, not collecting points, not defending anything, etc. I just don’t think about it anymore. What’s important is where I find motivation and joy,” the four-time US Open champ remarked.
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