‘I wouldn’t be surprised if Novak Djokovic decided not to play again for the remainder of the season,’ says Ivan Ljubicic

‘I wouldn’t be surprised if Novak Djokovic decided not to play again for the remainder of the season,’ says Ivan Ljubicic

Novak Djokovic

After losing in the finals of the recently concluded 2021 US Open to Danill Medvedev, World No.1 Novak Djokovic opined that he is unsure about his next tournament. While there are only a few marquee events left before the season draws to a close, it remains to be seen if the Serb wants to compete or not.

“Let me tell you – I have no plan, absolutely nothing. I don’t know if I’m going to play anything, anywhere… I’m just here in New York right now,” Djokovic informed Sportklub.

Meanwhile coach of Roger Federer, Ivan Ljubicic too feels that the 20-time Grand Slam champion may not even show up for the rest of the season. However, the Croat also added that he would love to see Djokovic at the Bercy Masters in Paris and the World Tour Finals in Turin.

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“I would like to see Djokovic at Paris-Bercy and at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin 2021, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he decided not to play again for the remainder of the season,” Ljubicic told Il Messaggero.

While Djokovic is still at his supreme best when it comes to fitness levels, Federer and Rafael Nadal are visibly slowing down. Ljubicic believes that once the big-three get back on the tour in 2022, they will be at their best.

Next Gen will challenge Federer, Nadal and Djokovic

Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic
Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic

That said, he also threw in a word of caution by stating that the next generation of players can even stop Federer, Djokovic and Nadal from adding to their tally of 20 Grand Slams.

“It will be interesting in the next big tournaments if the big three will win titles again or if everyone stopped at the figure of 20. I think they will continue to be competitive but we will have to see if young players who are already standing out are able to win five sets. (Matteo) Berrettini is in this group. Nor can we forget (Alexander) Zverev, Medvedev, (Stefanos) Tsitsipas and (Andrey) Rublev,” the 42-year-old concluded.

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