Why Novak Djokovic's ignorance of ATP events could hurt him in his Grand Slam pursuit

Novak Djokovic's chances of winning his 25th Grand Slam title might be hurt by his ignorance of the other tournaments.

The 37-year-old Serbian player doesn't want to compete in many ATP tournaments anymore. That's not because he wouldn't like them, but because his body and personal interests wouldn't allow him to do that.

Djokovic is 37, and only a couple of decades ago, it was unheard of for tennis players to compete at their highest level so late into their careers. Yet, he won three majors last year and an Olympic gold medal this year.

In years past, Djokovic had a different schedule than the vast majority of his younger rivals, wanting to peak at majors. That worked for him, as he surpassed his main rival, Rafael Nadal, winning two more Grand Slams than the Spaniard.

However, he still played plenty of regular ATP tournaments, winning the Masters 1000 events in Cincinnati and Paris last year, but also the ATP 250 tournament in Adelaide at the start of the season.

Djokovic said that he will focus on Grand Slams even more in 2025. That means he will likely skip even more regular ATP tournaments. He showed that already at the end of this season, withdrawing from the Paris Masters, and likely planning to skip the ATP Finals as well.

But this approach might significantly hurt his chances. Although he's arguably the greatest tennis player of all time, even Djokovic can't win the fight against time, and at this point in his career, he will need to produce his absolute best tennis to win another Grand Slam. And his ignorance of ATP events might hurt him in that pursuit.

Already at the 2025 Australian Open, Djokovic likely won't be among the top four seeded players. That is unless he plays at the ATP Finals and defends his title at the tournament.

The last time he wasn't among the top four seeds was at the 2018 U.S. Open. He ended up winning the tournament, but seven years later, his situation is much different.

Missing out on the top four seeding spots might mean a more challenging path to the title for Djokovic. As one of the top four seeds, he couldn't meet the likely No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, until the semifinal of the tournament.

That will change with his lower seeding, as he can now play against them already in the quarterfinals. While that might not seem significant, Djokovic is a player known for having slow starts in tournaments.

Having to play the best of the best in the early rounds might significantly impact his chances of winning another major, and those would further decrease if he slipped down the rankings even further.