Alex de Minaur‘s hopes of becoming the first Aussie tennis star in 20 years to qualify for the ATP Finals could have been given a massive boost from Novak Djokovic, after a telling development around the 24-time major winner. De Minaur is currently in the eighth and final spot for the season-ending tournament in Turin – reserved for the best men’s players in the world.

The 25-year-old is on the cusp of becoming the first Australian since Lleyton Hewitt in 2004 to secure a spot in the eight-man field for the prestigious event, which gets underway in Italy on November 10. De Minaur heads to Belgrade this week for the final qualifying event in the year-long ‘Race to Turin’, with two of his closest rivals – ninth-placed Andrey Rublev and seventh-placed Casper Ruud – both playing in the other event at the Moselle Open in Metz, France.

All three players currently trail sixth-ranked Djokovic but could be handed a massive boost by the Serbian superstar, who has previously indicated he may not even play the ATP Finals. The 37-year-old Djokovic is prioritising the grand slam tournaments in the twilight of his career and is desperate to win a record-breaking 25th major trophy that would see him surpass the all-time record he shares with Margaret Court.

And in an eye-opening development, Djokovic has been pictured on holidays with his family in the Maldives, having decided to skip last week’s Paris Masters tournament that his top rivals competed in. The Serb later turned up to watch the prelims at the Belgrade Open on Sunday but there are major questions around whether he will compete for a record-extending eighth ATP Finals crown in Turin after appearing to be in holiday mode already.

It comes after Djokovic admitted that he is not worried about the ATP Finals anymore and suggested that rest and recuperation ahead of a tilt at a record-extending 11th Australian Open crown was his No.1 priority. “Torino is not my goal at all, to be honest, I am not chasing ATP Finals, I am not chasing the rankings,” Djokovic said after playing for Serbia in the Davis Cup in September.

“As far as I am concerned, I am done with those tournaments for my career. Whether I will play in other tournaments this year or in the future, I can’t say right now.” If Djokovic does decide to give the ATP Finals a miss this year, it will almost certainly guarantee de Minaur a spot in the eight-man field in Turin.

Novak Djokovic move could benefit Alex de Minaur

De Minaur has enjoyed a breakout season that saw him enter the top-10 for the first time in his career. However, the Belgrade Open will be the Aussie’s 20th tournament of a busy and injury-hit year, with de Minaur still working his way back towards top form and fitness after a hip injury that saw him withdraw from a Wimbledon quarter-final against Djokovic, before flaring up at the same stage of the US Open when he went down to Jack Draper.

De Minaur is the top seed at the Belgrade Open but could definitely benefit from skipping the tournament and along with Ruud and Rublev, knows a spot in the ATP Finals would be guaranteed if Djokovic withdrew from Turin. De Minaur’s opening match in Belgrade is an awkward encounter against either Serbian Laszlo Djere or Swiss veteran Stan Wawrinka, while Rublev and Ruud will be in action in Metz and are drawn to potentially meet in the final.

Australia’s No.1 male de Minaur went down 4-6 6-4 5-7 to Danish youngster Holger Rune last week at the Paris Masters, in an engrossing two-hour and 25-minute slugfest that saw him once again exit at the last-eight stage. As well as vying to book his spot in the ATP Finals, de Minaur is also hoping to cement his spot in Hewitt’s Australia squad for the finals of the Davis Cup, which get underway with a quarter-final tie against the USA in Malaga on November 21.

with AAP