Novak Djokovic in line for ATP finals spot with rival upsets

Former world number one Novak Djokovic has received a significant boost to secure a berth in the ATP Finals. The 37-year-old is regarded as the greatest player in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category, having won as many as 24 Grand Slam titles.

Djokovic is going through a mixed campaign. For the first time in seven years, the Belgrade-born star has failed to win a single Grand Slam. That has impacted his chances of playing in the ATP Finals in Turin later this year, when only the top eight men’s tennis players participate.

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However, Djokovic has now received a major boost as his closest rivals in the race to finish in the top-eight suffered defeats. Russia’s Andrey Rublev lost in the quarterfinal of the Stockholm Open to Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 7-6. Norway’s Casper Ruud lost to Tallon Griekspoor in the last-eight clash of the same event in straight sets with a score of 7-5, 7-6.

Australia’s Alex de Minaur lost in the quarterfinal of the European Open to France’s Hugo Gaston with a score of 6-3, 3-6, 7-5. Despite all those results, it will be interesting to see whether the former world number one will push hard to secure important wins which would help him get a berth in the upcoming mega-event as earlier, he announced that playing in the ATP Finals is no longer his priority.

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“Torino is not my goal at all, to be honest, I am not chasing ATP Finals, I am not chasing the rankings,” he said earlier this year. “As far as I am concerned, I am done with those tournaments for my career. Whether I will play in other tournaments this year or in the future, I can’t say right now. My main priorities are playing for the national team and slams, everything else is less important.”

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