Alex de Minaur has elected not to compete at the Belgrade Open after confirming his place at the 2024 ATP Finals.
De Minaur's spot was far from certain at the start of the week. He had moved ahead of Andrey Rublev in the final qualifying spot, but the Russian was only a minimal number of points behind him.
The other man, who was not sure of his place, was Casper Ruud. De Minaur, Rublev, and Ruud looked set to have an epic tussle for the remaining qualifying spots at the ATP Finals in the 250-level tournaments this week in Belgrade and at the Moselle Open in Metz.
However, Novak Djokovic changed everything by announcing his withdrawal from the ATP Finals due to an injury. The Serbian had not officially booked his place, but he likely would.
Djokovic began the week sixth in the race, and de Minaur and Rublev needed to win the tournaments in Belgrade and Metz to overtake him. Ruud also needed to reach the semifinals in Metz.
But the rumors about Djokovic not playing at this year's ATP Finals have proven true. Greg Rusedski was one of those who correctly predicted that the 24-time Grand Slam would not play at the event in Turin.
Djokovic did make an unexpected appearance at the Serbia Open to sign autographs for the fans, and his plans for the rest of 2024 are to attend Rafael Nadal's final tournament at the Davis Cup Finals and play an exhibition against Juan Martin Del Potro in December.
The former No. 1's withdrawal means de Minaur, Rublev, and Ruud are guaranteed to qualify for the ATP Finals. They can choose not to play this week or compete in a more relaxed way than expected.
De Minaur has chosen not to play at the Serbia Open. That decision is entirely understandable because of the injury issues he has dealt with since Wimbledon, which makes his qualification for the ATP Finals even more impressive.
The Australian's Wimbledon campaign ended in a heartbreaking way when he withdrew before his scheduled quarterfinal against Novak Djokovic due to a hip injury he sustained on match point against Arthur Fils in the fourth round.
After missing the Olympics, the Canadian Open, and the Cincinnati Open, de Minaur returned with an impressive run to the quarterfinal of the US Open before the hip injury resurfaced against Jack Draper at that stage.
After missing the entire Asian swing, de Minaur's hopes of making it to Turin seemed over. But he got himself back into contention by returning during the European indoor hardcourt season and because his rivals suffered some early defeats at tournaments.
Djokovic's withdrawal means de Minaur's hard work to return was worth it. He is an excellent indoor player and could be very dangerous at the ATP Finals that begins on November 10th.
It will be his first appearance at the year-end tournament, and he joins seven other great players on the entry list for the 2024 ATP Finals.