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.

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.

“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.”