By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday October 13, 2024
There are nonetheless loads of positives for Novak Djokovic to take even if he didn’t convey dwelling his one hundredth profession ATP title on Sunday in Shanghai. The 24-time main champion, who fell to Jannik Sinner, 7-6(4), 6-3, says that the one hundredth title was by no means an enormous focus for him when it comes to goal-setting.
“It isn’t live-or-die kind of purpose for me, I feel I’ve achieved all of my largest targets in my profession,” the 37-year-old advised the media after his loss on Sunday. “Proper now it is actually about slams and about nonetheless seeing how far I can form of push the bar for myself.”
Djokovic says he believes he can nonetheless match up with the highest abilities on the ATP Tour, Djokovic has gone a mixed 1-3 towards Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in 2024, notching a legacy-defining win over Alcaraz within the Olympic Gold medal match that made his season. He was defeated soundly by Alcaraz within the Wimbledon last, and has misplaced each contests with Sinner, within the Australian Open semifinals and as we speak in Shanghai, whereas profitable only one set.
“So long as I carry out the way in which I carried out really this week, I feel I can go toe-to-toe with the massive guys,” He mentioned, including: “So long as that is the case, I suppose I will nonetheless really feel the necessity to carry on competing, and motivation to be on the market, and let’s examine how lengthy that is going to final for.”
The Serbian icon says he’s nonetheless fueled by his ardour for tennis and his aggressive hearth. He plans to proceed pushing for the most important titles in tennis in 2025. His tone lately may very well be described extra as hopeful than assured, which is a stark distinction from the place he was in 2023, when he received three of the 4 majors on provide.
Nonetheless, the hope springs everlasting.
“My major motivation comes from love and keenness for the game, and likewise the need to maintain competing,” he mentioned. “These are sorts of matches and challenges that I nonetheless attempt for, to be ready to play towards the perfect gamers on the planet, on the most important stage, within the finals of a few of the largest tournaments on the planet.
“That is what I work for and why I nonetheless carry on pushing myself. That is all that may be mentioned about that. I do not know what the long run brings, I will simply attempt to form of glide to see how I really feel in a given second. I nonetheless plan to compete and play subsequent season and, yeah, let’s examine how far I’m going.”
