Novak Djokovic played for Serbia at the Davis Cup Final 8 Showdown in 2023, but he won't participate in the upcoming 2024 Qualifiers in February.
Novak Djokovic loves to play for Serbia, but the older he gets, the fewer tournaments he can enter. It's not a huge problem because he actually led them to the trophy one year, when he proved to be the country's hero.
He's one of the best players in the world, and being smart about his schedule is a vital part of that. The Davis Cup traditionally hasn't got the best scheduling because it's usually inserted in between events, which is part of why so many stars skip it.
The upcoming qualifiers, for example, won't feature Djokovic, but that's not surprising. He generally skips this part of the Davis Cup and focuses mostly on the finals if Serbia qualifies.
They were generally able to do so in the past thanks to some other players like Laslo Djere, Miomir Kecmanovic, Dusan Lajovic, and others. This year's team is bolstered by rising star Hamad Medjedovic, who recently won the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah.
Djokovic has been a longtime supporter of Medjedovic and congratulated him on his triumph in Jeddah. He also took him to Dubai to practice with him ahead of this year, so the country should have no worries about actually qualifying.
The timing isn't that great as it's played in the first week of February, so basically, it's immediately after the Australian Open. If we look at how Djokovic generally performed there, then you can kind of understand why he's opting out of it.
The Serbian team for the tie against Slovakia on February 2nd and 3rd consists of Miomir Kecmanovic, Dusan Lajovic, Laslo Djere, Hamad Medjedovic, and Nikola Cacic, and the team will be led by captain Viktor Troicki.