Novak Djokovic, the 21-time Grand Slam champion, had a major setback earlier this year when he was deported from Australia after a legal fight, one day before the start of his title defense in Melbourne, for not possessing the Covid-19 vaccination.
He was also bothered by a wrist injury that made him suffer at the Laver Cup in London and suspected that his recent absence from the Tour was to cause. Seventh-ranked Djokovic suggested a number of causes for the wrist problem. “It’s possible that we’ve gone almost three months without playing matches, and then the conditions here are such that the balls are really big and slow,” he stated. The three-day event at London’s O2 Arena was Djokovic’s first since winning his 21st grand slam singles championship at Wimbledon in early July.
Novak Djokovic says one of his main goals for the rest of the year is to qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin, and he will play a tournament in Tel Aviv this week, a tournament in Kazakhstan the next week, and the Paris Masters at the end of October.
According to ATP rules, the top 7 players will automatically qualify for the ATP Finals, and anyone ranked between 8th and 20th who has won a Grand Slam can take the eighth position. The only player in those positions to have won a Major this year is Djokovic. The Serb is now predicted to qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin.
As a Grand Slam winner-he won Wimbledon in July, the Serb has assured a position in the eight-man event, but only if he remains in the world’s top 20.
“Yes, well, the goal is to try to make the Turin. I’m in a good position, but, you know, still I think 15 or 16 on the race. You’ve got to be top 20 as a Grand Slam winner. That’s the rule in order to make cut and qualify for Turin,” Djokovic remarked.
Djokovic has 88 ATP singles championships; including 21 Grand Slam singles titles, five ATP Finals wins, and a record 38 ATP Masters titles. He is the only male player to have won all nine Masters Tournaments, and he has done so twice.
