"Main goal is to play ATP Finals" - Djokovic on plans for rest of season
ATP
Novak Djokovic will play quite untraditional tournaments after the 2022 Laver Cup, and he explained his choices.
The 21-time Grand Slam champion is trying to make it to the 2022 ATP Finals. Since he might not have enough points to be among the eight highest-ranked players in the ATP Race, he may enter in a different way.
Djokovic is a Grand Slam champion in 2022, and that is something that gives him an advantage over his opponents. If the Serbian stays within the Top 20 of the 2022 ATP Race, his Wimbledon triumph will qualify him for the 2022 ATP Finals.
At the moment, he's ranked only 15th in the 2022 ATP Race. Djokovic found himself in this situation because of multiple reasons. The first one is the fact that he was not able to attend multiple Grand Slams and ATP Masters 1000 tournaments.
The Serbian player couldn't play at the Australian Open and the US Open. On top of that, he also missed the Indian Wells Open, the Miami Open, the Cincinnati Masters, and the Canadian Open.
At the moment, he has a total of 1,970 points to his name, which he earned in 2022. 1,000 of those came from his win at the Italian Open in Rome. He earned another 360 points for reaching the French Open quarter-finals.
However, another reason why Djokovic isn't among the eight highest-ranked players in the ATP Race is the fact that there were no points awarded at this year's Wimbledon Championships.
That decision was made because of the ban on Russian and Belarusian players. Had Djokovic received 2,000 points for his win in London, he would have been ranked fifth in the ATP Race.
Still, he had to adjust to the situation, why he chose a bit untraditional calendar, as he revealed in London after the Laver Cup. The 21-time major winner confirmed that he would play at the Tel Aviv Open and the Astana Open. After that, he will play at the Paris Masters and hope to qualify for the ATP Finals.
"My main goal is to play the ATP Finals. I know I have to be in the top 20 and now I am 15th or 16th. I decided to play in Tel Aviv and Astana, then Paris and I hope Turin."
