Roger Federer’s former coach Paul Annacone has reacted to Novak Djokovic’s latest historic accomplishment as he proclaimed that the tennis icon’s retirement will be “bad news” for the ATP Tour.
Djokovic‘s qualification for the 2025 ATP Finals was confirmed last week, making him the third player to book their spot in Turin after Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
The 38-year-old has now qualified for the ATP Finals 18 times, which has seen him tie Federer‘s record for the most qualifications for the men’s season-ending championships.
The Serb has qualified for the ATP Finals every year besides 2017 since making his debut at the event in 2007. Djokovic has secured a record seven titles from his 16 appearances at the ATP Finals (he missed the 2024 edition after qualifying).
Speaking on Tennis Channel, Annacone marvelled at Djokovic’s 18th qualification for the prestigious tournament.
“I’ve been scratching my head for a number of years, and this is just another one of those stats,” said the former world No 12.
“It’s always so hard when you look at what our icons are able to do. You know, you look at what they do and the way they do it, and you take it for granted.
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“The bad news is, everyone that comes after them, they then get compared to that. So it’s going to be a struggle.
“The guy’s just been amazing. He’s just rewriting the record books. But the big question is, will he be there (at the ATP Finals)?”
Annacone was then asked whether Djokovic’s record at the ATP Finals was more impressive than his record at majors since only top players qualify for the year-end championships.
“I think the majors are tougher because it’s three out of five sets, two weeks. It’s a different kind of pressure,” the American assessed.
“Here (at the ATP Finals), you can lose a match and still win the title. And I’ve seen [Pete] Sampras do that, I’ve seen it happen in the past. So it’s a little less pressure. But there aren’t any good draws here.”
Steve Johnson, a former world No 21, gave his verdict on Djokovic’s 2025 campaign.
“It’s been good, but not good enough to where he’s wanted to be, right? By anybody else’s standards other than his own, it’s been a great year,” said the American, who won four ATP singles titles.
“He’s made semis of all the Slams, he just hasn’t gotten to number 25, which I believe is the only thing that he is still kind of reaching for at this point in his career.”
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