Novak Djokovic has hinted that the Shanghai Masters may be his last official tournament in 2024 and that he could be putting a curtain on his season after appearing in a star-studded Saudi exhibition.
After helping Serbia secure a Davis Cup win over the weekend, the currently sixth-ranked player took on Grigor Dimitrov in an exhibition match in Sofia as the Bulgarian tennis star claimed a tight 6-4 2-6 10-6 win that was played in front of a sold-out crowd that featured 11k attendees.
Now, next on the Serb’s schedule is the Shanghai Masters, which starts on October 2nd and where the 37-year-old is slated to play for the first time since 2019.
Besides Shanghai, Djokovic hasn’t made any commitments when it comes to playing any other Tour tournaments, including the ATP Finals. But the former world No. 1 is scheduled to appear in the 6 Kings Slam in Riyadh which is set to take place between October 16-19 and also feature Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune.
Djokovic has ‘no long-term plans’
“For the first time in my career, I don’t have any long-term plans. I am living for the moment and we will see what happens. Today, I will play in Sofia, then in China, and then at a demonstration tournament in Saudi Arabia. After that, I don’t know. We’ll see how I feel. Family life is very important to me. I want to be with my wife and children, to be a part of their everyday life. I have to balance things out, we’ll see. I still want to chase titles and records, but at the same time I have to be sensible and prioritize certain tournaments over others,” Djokovic said just before the start of his exhibition match.
At the ATP Finals, the Serb is a seven-time champion and he has won the last two editions of the prestigious season-ending tournament.
But judging by Djokovic’s latest comments, his season could be well over by the time the ATP FInals start on November 13th in Turin.
