Novak Djokovic returns to American hard courts with major rankings boost in sight

By SABC Sport
1st March 2025

Novak Djokovic has made it clear that he is no longer motivated by climbing the ATP Rankings, but he will appreciate the significance of the next few weeks as he returns to action on American hard courts.

The former World No 1 is playing a reduced tournament schedule in the final chapters of his career, as he looks to find a balance between avoiding injuries and getting in enough match practice.

That plan didn't work out for Djokovic in the first Grand Slam of 2025, as he was forced to pull out of his Australian Open semi-final against Alexander Zverev with a hamstring problem.

Yet he is back to full fitness ahead of the first ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the season, with the opportunity to leap up the rankings there for Djokovic to grab.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion is defending just 50 points after he was beaten by Luca Nardi in his second match at Indian Wells last year, so he will add 950 points to his tally if he wins the title in California for a sixth time.

He opted against playing at the Miami Open last year and while there is a strong chance he will follow that approach once again, he could change his schedule and chase the 1000 points that will be on offer in that tournament.

Djokovic is currently at No 7 in the ATP Rankings and if he were to win the Indian Wells title, he could leap back into the top four.

More points in Miami could cement his position in the top four heading into the European clay court season, where he could also pick up valuable ranking points ahead of the French Open.

While chasing ranking points is no longer a focus for Djokovic, he would benefit from a return to the top four of the ATP Rankings ahead of the French Open.

That would ensure he avoids a meeting with defending Roland Garros Carlos Alcaraz, world No 2 Alexander Zverev and world No 1 Jannik Sinner before the semi-finals in Paris.

The impact of Djokovic falling out of the top four in the ATP Rankings was in evidence at the Australian Open, as he played a gruelling match against Alcaraz in the quarter-finals that led to his withdrawal against Zverev a few days later.

Djokovic has just 600 ranking points to defend from 2024 ahead of the French Open and if he can up to 1,500 ranking points to his total, he will have a good chance of being among the top four seeds heading into Roland Garros.

The Serbian has made it clear that a 25th Grand Slam title is the primary target in his sights in 2025 and his best chance to achieve that goal will be boosted if he can jump up the ATP Rankings in March.