Novak Djokovic has suffered another significant blow at the hands of an Australian tennis player, with Alex de Minaur overtaking him for the last spot in the race to the ATP Finals. Djokovic suffered a shock loss to Alexei Popyrin in the third round of the US Open, meaning he hasn’t won a single grand slam title in 2024.
The Serbian star has dropped from World No.2 to No.4 in the live ATP rankings, and he’ll fall to fifth if Daniil Medvedev beats Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals in New York. But as well as the rankings hit and the fact he’s been stuck on 24 career grand slams all year, Djokovic is in serious danger of missing out on qualifying for the year-ending ATP Finals.
With de Minaur’s victory over Jordan Thompson in the fourth round of the US Open, the Aussie has now moved ahead of Djokovic into eighth spot in the race to the ATP Finals. Only eight players will qualify for the season-ending tournament, meaning Djokovic would miss out if the standings remain the same.
As opposed to the official ATP rankings, which work on a 24-month cycle, the ATP Finals field is determined by the players with the most points accrued in the calendar year. Even though Djokovic is now fourth in the world rankings, he’s ninth in the race to the ATP Finals.
Novak Djokovic in danger of missing out on ATP Finals
It would mark a staggering development if Djokovic doesn’t qualify for the Finals given he’s won the tournament the most times in its history (seven). The 37-year-old has only missed the ATP Finals once since 2007, but that was due to injury in 2017.
Whether or not he still regards the ATP Finals as a must-play event remains to be seen, with Djokovic putting all of his focus into winning gold at the Olympics this year. The Serb didn’t appear to have his heart in it during the US Open after completing his quest to win the only major title that has eluded him in his career – gold at the Olympics – in Paris.
The fact that de Minaur has overtaken Djokovic in the race for the Finals goes to show how good the Aussie has been in 2024, and the indifferent form of Djokovic. The 24-time grand slam champion hasn’t won a single title on the ATP Tour this season, with his Olympic gold medal his only prize to show for a down year.
De Minaur has a 43-19 win-loss record in 2024 and has claimed two titles – in ‘s-Hertogenbosch on grass and Acapulco on hard court. In contrast, Djokovic is 31-8 this season and hasn’t played nearly as many tournaments.
Katie Boulter will have to put British allegiances aside
De Minaur will take on Jack Draper in the quarter-finals of the US Open on Wednesday (Thursday 4am Australian time). He will put his love affair with Great Britain aside for the time being, with Brits normally happy to cheer him on due to his relationship with Katie Boulter.
Boulter will also have her allegiances tested as her boyfriend takes on her compatriot. “Look, I’ve played plenty of Brits. It’s never easy. I feel a little bit of hostility in their country at the moment,” de Minaur said on Tuesday.
“But again, these are the types of matches I want to be playing. I worked so hard to put myself in this position throughout the years. So many hours off the court, on the court, working on little things, because these are the matches I want to be playing – tail end of slams, opportunities, quarter-finals. Yeah, I’m excited for the battle … I mean, do one for Australia, do one for myself as well.”
