Djokovic's Decision To Ignore ATP Events Defended By Serena Williams' Ex-Coach

Saturday, 23 November 2024 at 03:47

byJordan Reynolds

Novak Djokovic's decision to devote most of his attention to the four Grand Slams has been supported by Serena Williams' former coach, Rick Macci.

Now aged 37, Djokovic no longer plays a full schedule. That is demonstrated by the Serbian only playing in four of the nine Masters 1000 tournaments in 2024, including missing the final one at the Paris Masters.

Although Djokovic has been open about focusing primarily on the four Grand Slams and representing Serbia, many were still surprised when he withdrew from the season-ending ATP Finals.

Djokovic cited an injury as the reason for the move, but there had been rumors about him not playing at the tournament in Turin for several weeks. He indicated himself in September that he might be done with tournaments like the ATP Finals.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion is probably frustrated that his focus on the four Grand Slams did not lead to him winning major titles this year. Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz split the year's Grand Slams between them.

Djokovic hopes that playing in the opening week of next season will help him rectify that situation. He competed at the United Cup this season to prepare for the Australian Open. The ten-time champion in Melbourne lost to Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open semifinals this year.

It is important to note that Djokovic's season was not a failure despite failing to win a Grand Slam because he claimed the Olympic gold medal that had eluded him for so many years, beating Alcaraz in a high-quality final.

Macci, a hall-of-fame tennis coach, spoke with Hernan Chousa about supporting Djokovic's move to focus on the Grand Slams because he the Serbian what is best for himself at this late stage of his career.

"I think it's the right decision, and I'll tell you why: Because it's his decision. He knows his body. He knows his mind. You saw how he played at the Olympics. As you get older, forget the physical part, that happens to all of us, but the mental part, the drive, the motivation."

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"He's going to nibble probably a few other tournaments, but it's all about the majors. That's why he wants to keep playing. I support the decision, because if he's not fully motivated... I don't want to say that in a bad way, but there's a fine line between the players. If he's not all there, he would know that."

Macci also respects Djokovic's drive to keep playing since he could have decided to stop competing after already establishing himself as the most statistically successful tennis player of all time.

"Now the flip side is he could say, game, set, match. I'm the GOAT, I'm out of here, see you guys later. He didn't do that yet. So I think you almost have to respect what he wants to do because he knows better than all of us."

Rafael Nadal's retirement at the Davis Cup Finals might make tennis fans value Djokovic's continued participation even more since he is the only one of the legendary trio of him, Nadal, and Roger Federer remaining.