Novak Djokovic gave the first clue for his plans for 2025.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion said he is done for 2024 but will play once the calendar flips to 2025 to prepare for the Australian Open, which he has won 10 times.
“Tennis is still my focus! I am going at full throttle in the off-season, we go for another ride. I just needed to recharge and refresh a bit after an exhausting year,“ Djokovic, 37, told Serbian journalist Sasa Ozmo.
Djokovic added: “I am going to play in the first week of the season, I am just not sure yet where. Then, of course, Australian Open.“
Ozmo pointed out that the last time Djokovic played a warm-up tournament before Melbourne, he won Adelaide and the Australian Open in 2023.
Djokovic did not play the Paris Masters last week and pulled out of next week’s ATP Finals in Turin, Italy, citing an undisclosed injury. He has been pictured on the beaches of the Maldives with his family, and at various sporting events in Serbia.
Djokovic did not win a major in 2024, with his young rivals Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz each winning two.
Djokovic needs one more major to pass Margaret Court with 25 and become the all-time leader in men’s and women’s tennis.
“My main priorities are playing for the national team and slams,” he said previously, “everything else is less important.”
ATP FINALS GROUPS SET
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and two-time champion Alexander Zverev lead the Ilie Nastase Group and John Newcombe Group, respectively, at the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals.
Here are the singles groups for the season finale, which gets underway Sunday in Turin:
SINGLES
Ilie Nastase Group
Jannik Sinner (1)
Daniil Medvedev (4)
Taylor Fritz (5)
Alex de Minaur (7)
John Newcombe Group
Alexander Zverev (2)
Carlos Alcaraz (3)
Casper Ruud (6)
Andrey Rublev (8)
This has not been the year Cameron Norrie had been hoping for – but it is ending on a real high. When the former top 10 star sat down with Tennis365 for an ex
Crowds have been mixed at the tournament but Zheng has been a consistent draw in Saudi Arabia, with a large number of Chinese fans cheering her on against Krejc
Britain's Cameron Norrie will contest his first ATP final since February 2023 as his fine end to the season continued with a straight-set win against Corentin M
Qinwen Zheng entered Friday's WTA Finals semifinals match against Barbora Krejcikova playing the best tennis of her life. The 22-year-old has enjoyed an incredi