Novak Djokovic withdrew from the ATP Finals because of ongoing shoulder points. Nevertheless, the 38-year-old defended his fourth place on the ATP rankings listing, with Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton failing to problem the legend in Turin.
Thus, Djokovic closed one other chapter of tennis historical past with out even stepping on the court docket. The veteran secured his sixteenth year-end top-4 end, surpassing Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
The Swiss and the Spaniard stopped on 15 year-end top-4 honors, and Novak managed to cross them and prime the charts following one other unimaginable season when it comes to consistency on the massive stage.
Novak Djokovic at his BEST 🤩@djokernole pic.twitter.com/gCDYdRMCUF
— Rolex Shanghai Masters (@SH_RolexMasters) November 9, 2024
One other file fell in Djokovic’s path, which is nothing new! Regardless of lacking many tournaments, together with the ATP Finals, the 38-year-old stands 600 factors forward of his closest rival on the finish of the season.
The Belgrade native’s consistency has been nothing however staggering. Solely two instances since 2007 has Novak failed to complete the season among the many prime 4 figures, a stage of consistency unmatched in our sport.
Even throughout injury-hit years and generational shifts, he stays firmly anchored on the summit close to the gamers 15 years youthful. Djokovic’s year-end rating place carries greater than one other file or a symbolic weight.
It delivers a priceless aggressive benefit on the stage the place he nonetheless needs to carry out effectively in 2026. By locking within the no. 4 spot for this yr’s last standings, Novak ensures to keep away from Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner earlier than the semi-final on the upcoming Australian Open.
With the 2 younger superpowers dominating the most important levels for 2 years, clear air on the veteran’s facet of the draw is invaluable. After all, Djokovic is aware of they stand above him in the meanwhile.
Nevertheless, he nonetheless needs to problem them within the closing levels, as he did this yr, having reached the final 4 in any respect 4 Majors! Novak enters subsequent season with historical past behind him and a clear runaway in entrance of him.
Issues aren’t getting any simpler because of bodily points typical for his age, however the 24-time Main winner refused to decelerate. At 38, Novak nonetheless bends the game to his rhythm and rewrites the boundaries of longevity effectively after reaching every thing our sport has to supply.
