Novak Djokovic to step up his tournament appearances in 2025

Djokovic made it clear that he had limited motivation to play in tournaments outside of Grand Slams for most of 2024, with some unexpected defeats in ATP Tour events highlighting that lack of focus.

Djokovic skipped several tournaments he may have been expected to play in and ended his season by pulling out of the ATP Finals with an injury.

Yet the decisions he has made over the last few weeks suggest Djokovic has rebooted his mindset, with his move to hire former rival Andy Murray as a coach for next month's Australian Open sending exciting shockwaves through the tennis world.

Djokovic has also confirmed he is planning to play a warm-up tournament ahead of the Australian Open in Brisbane, as he looks to get some match practice ahead of his bid to win a remarkable 11th title in Melbourne.

It has now been confirmed that he will also play at the ATP 500 tournament in Qatar in February, as he looks to avoid the issues that affected his ambitions for much of this year.

There is always a temptation to play fewer tournaments at the back end of a career, but lack of time on court can have a double impact that can, in fact, add to fitness issues.

Lack of matches means getting back into form during high-profile tournaments and that can lead to longer matches that can be draining on the body.

In addition, a 37-year-old tennis player who has played more matches than most in the history of the game needs to be kept in match shape and injuries like the knee problem Djokovic suffered at the French Open in June are more likely if your schedule is trimmed down to just a handful of tournaments.

"Older players fall into this trap every time that they are trying to save their body and they don't always get a good balance on playing enough matches," former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash told Tennis365.

"You tend to see older players start to lose five-set matches or have more bad days and that's natural.

"That's match toughness. I know Novak has played a lot of matches over the course of his career, but he still needs to be match-tough going into a best-of-five-set Grand Slam tournament.

"We often say you can't afford to get into tough five-set matches in the first week of a Slam as you need to stay fresh and that's especially true when you get older.

"If you don't have enough matches under your belt and you play a long one early on, I tell you what, you are going to be so sore.

"Andy has had a lot of injuries, but he always tried to play a lot of tournaments through to the end of his career and for me, that's the big secret for Novak in the next year. If he can get his schedule right and make sure he has the right number of matches under his belt, he can win again."

Djokovic is clearly gearing up for a more hectic tournament schedule in the new year, but the concern will be that the motivation issues he openly spoke about will return when he gets into tight situations against opponents he would expect to beat with ease.

Murray's presence in his coaching box may spur him on to ensure he doesn't lower his standards in front of a former rival who is now in his camp, but what happens if Djokovic gets into his first match in Brisbane next month and realises the fire that drove him to greatest has been extinguished?

That is a question no one can answer yet, but if Djokovic can rediscover his appetite for winning in 2025, those who have written off the most successful player of all-time may regret their hasty judgements.

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