Former World No.1 Argues that Novak Djokovic’s End of the Season Schedule has become Non-Coherent

Former doubles World No.1 Nicolas Mahut has questioned Novak Djokovic’s recent tennis schedule after the 38-year-old decided to play the ATP 250 tournament in Athens just a week before the ATP Finals in Turin. Djokovic has qualified for the season-ending tournament but has yet to decide whether he will play or not.

Djokovic is currently competing at the inaugural edition of the Hellenic Championship, an indoor hard court event in Athens, Greece. The event was previously known as the Belgrade Open, but organizers moved it to the Greek capital after Djokovic’s family moved from Serbia to Athens in September 2025.

Also, Djokovic’s brother, Djordje Djokovic, is the tournament director of the Hellenic Championship. Djokovic has revealed that he will make his decision concerning the ATP Finals after he ends his campaign at the Athens Open. The ATP Finals is set to begin on November 9 (Sunday), just a day after the final in Athens.

At the Athens Open, Djokovic is seeking to win his second tour-level title of the season after claiming his first at the Geneva Open in May. The Serbian star, who is currently ranked World No.5 in the ATP rankings is the top seed at the Hellenic Championship and favorite to claim the title.

But there’s a huge possibility that Djokovic might not feature at the ATP Finals. Speaking to Eurosport, Mahut assessed Djokovic’s end-of-the-season schedule and pointed out that the 24-time Grand Slam champion could have a good run at the Athens Open which will impact his participation in Turin:

I don’t understand this scheduling of the Athens tournament, even if it’s his family organising it. Logically, he plays Shanghai, prepares indoors, and then plays the Paris Masters. But Athens is just the week before the Masters (ATP Finals). He travels, and if he reaches the final, it adds matches to his schedule every day because the tournament finishes the day before the Masters starts. For me, considering his plan to play the Masters, this scheduling isn’t very coherent.

Djokovic opened his campaign at the Hellenic Championship with an outstanding performance against Alejandro Tabilo in the second round. The former World No.1 had lost to the Chilean on two consecutive occasions, but did well to prove himself by beating Tabilo in straight sets to take their head-to-head record to 1-2.

Novak Djokovic compares his rivalry with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

Novak Djokovic has had to deal with Jannik Sinner’s and Carlos Alcaraz’s dominance on tour since the 2024 season. The 38-year-old had contended with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on tour and prevailed against them, but at his current age, he has struggled to do the same thing against Sinner and Alcaraz.

In fact, this season he has only managed to beat Alcaraz once and has lost all his meetings against Sinner. During an interview with ATP, he narrated the difference between his rivalry with Alcaraz and Sinner and the one he had against Federer and Nadal on tour:

Very different, because I spent most of my career with my two greatest rivals: Nadal and Federer. Of course Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are also my rivals at the moment, but they’re so young. I have 15 years of difference on the Tour to them, so our rivalries are a few years old, and I have 20 years of rivalry with the other guys. So it’s not really comparable.

Djokovic has been drawn in Jimmy Connors’ group at the ATP Finals in Turin. He’s drawn alongside Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, and Alex de Minaur. He currently holds an incredible head-to-head record against Fritz and De Minaur, but there is a likelihood that he might not be able to beat Alcaraz at the tournament.

Also Read: Iga Swiatek Calls WTA Finals Exit ‘Karma’ After Amanda Anisimova Defeat

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