Novak Djokovic came agonizingly close to capturing his first Tour-level title of the season at the Shanghai Masters only to fumble at the final hurdle. He lost the final to World No. 1 Jannik Sinner 7-6(4), 6-3.
The Serb, who was playing in his first tournament since the US Open, has been selective with his calendar this year. He has only played at five tournaments (including the Paris Olympics) since June.Looking ahead, Djokovic is uncertain about the remainder of the season as well. Speaking to the media after his finals loss, the Serb said he planned to take some time off and return home to his family in the coming weeks.
He shall, however, be making one more stop next week at the invitational “Six Kings Slam” event being played in Saudi Arabia before heading back to Serbia. The plan after that, including whether he will be playing at the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals, is still up in the air.
“The plan is to go home, I mean, actually, Saudi, Six Kings Slam is happening next week, so I’m playing that, then I’ll see where I play next,” Novak Djokovic said.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion, however, reiterated his motivation to still compete, saying he had incredible “love and passion” for the sport. He added that he still cherishes getting to play the best players on the biggest of stages.
“Yeah, I mean, my main motivation comes from love and passion for the sport, and also the desire to keep competing,” Novak Djokovic said. “These are kind of the matches and challenges that I still strive for.”
“To be in a position to play against the best players in the world, on the biggest stage, in the finals of some of the biggest tournaments in the world,” he added.
“I don’t know what future brings, I’ll just try to go with the flow” – Novak Djokovic after Shanghai Masters setback
Novak Djokovic also spoke about his plans for the future, saying he was still pushing himself to get better and be in shape to challenge the best.
The Serb said while he was uncertain about what the future holds, he was ready to “go with the flow”. Djokovic confirmed his commitment to play the 2025 season, adding that he was not looking beyond that at this point.
“You know, that’s what I work for and why I still keep on pushing myself,” Novak Djokovic said. “Yeah, I mean, that’s all that can be said about that.”
“I don’t know what future brings, I’ll just, you know, try to kind of go with the flow to see how I feel in a given moment. I still plan to compete and play next season and, yeah, let’s see how far I go,” he added.
Djokovic is currently placed at No. 6 in the Race to ATP Finals rankings. The top 8 players qualify for the season-ending extravaganza held in Turin.