Novak Djokovic has been warned that his hopes of a 25th Grand Slam title could be impacted by his decision to pull out of tournaments and play a limited schedule.
The Serbian great has admitted his motivation to perform in ATP Masters 1000 tournaments has waned as his record-breaking career winds towards a conclusion, with his move withdrawal from the Miami Open last month backed up by a move to pull out of this week’s Monte Carlo Masters.
Those decisions have had an impact on Djokovic’s ranking, with Alexander Zverev replacing him as world No 3 in the updated list.
While the push for ranking points is not a priority for Djokovic in this phase of his career, former British No 1 Greg Rusedski has warned his lack of tournament play could have an impact on his hopes of winning another major title.
So long as Djokovic stays in the top four of the rankings, he will avoid potential clashes with world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz and No 2 Jannik Sinner until the semi-finals of Grand Slam events.
More Tennis News
Novak Djokovic’s latest big decision fuels rumours over his French Open participation
Novak Djokovic schedule: Tournament director reveals tennis great ‘keen’ to play key clay event
Yet Rusedski has suggested Djokovic will need to play more often to ensure he is not sliding down the rankings.
“I think either Madrid or Rome will be his first week and then he will get ready for Roland Garros,” said Rusedski on the latest edition of his podcast
“It’s not about ranking points. It’s about where he’s seeded. He does need points to be in the top four.
“To win a major these days, you gotta usually go through Alcaraz and Sinner. Then imagine if he drops out of the top four, he might have to play [Alexander] Zverev.
“So for him, the important thing is keeping that top four ranking to give himself a shot at Wimbledon.”
Djokovic has not confirmed the reason for his withdrawal from Monte Carlo, but he has not been on court in a competitive environment since a draining defeat against Jack Draper at the Indian Wells Masters last month.
The good news for Djokovic is he has limited ranking points to defend over the next few weeks, so he may be able to get away with missing the Monte Carlo and maybe also the Madrid Masters and still hang on to a top four ranking.
Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for tennis coverage you can trust.
He will have plenty of ranking points to defend by the time he gets to the French Open after his semi-final run at Roland Garros last year, so Djokovic has some big decisions to make in what may be his final year challenging for major titles.
The Serbian will celebrate his 39th birthday last month and while he has had some big wins over top players in the last two years, notably against Sinner at the Australian Open in January, his lack of tournament appearances leaves him lacking match sharpness when he does make rare appearances.
READ NEXT: Novak Djokovic cannot be called the GOAT of tennis, claims former Wimbledon champion
The post Novak Djokovic sent a rankings warning by former British No 1 after latest withdrawal appeared first on Tennis365.
Leave a Reply