"Novak Djokovic seemed disinterested" - Jim Courier questions Serb's chances in 2025 season amid current poor run of form
Jim Courier has suggested that Novak Djokovic appeared "disinterested" at some of the tournaments he took part in this year. Djokovic finished the 2024 season without winning a title, even though he did come close at the Wimbledon Championships among the Majors and the Rolex Shanghai Masters among the Masters 1000s.
After a remarkable 2023, which saw Djokovic clinch three Grand Slams, two Masters 1000s, and the year-end Nitto ATP Finals, 2024 proved to be a challenging year for the Serb. At the Australian Open, he reached the semifinals but was unable to outwit eventual champion Jannik Sinner. Next came a string of upsets at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Monte-Carlo Masters, Italian Open and Geneva Open.
While Novak Djokovic was able to make it to the quarterfinals at Roland Garros, he ultimately needed to withdraw due to a knee injury, which later required him to undergo surgery. The Serb came back at the Wimbledon Championships and reached the final, but here, he was dismantled by Carlos Alcaraz. Djokovic's biggest success of the year though, came shortly after, at the Paris Olympics.
Unfortunately for the former World No. 1, another upset marred his US Open outing, as he was bundled out of the hardcourt Major in the third round by Alexei Popyrin. The Rolex Shanghai Masters marked the last competitive outing for the Serb in 2024. He reached the final but once again had to settle for second-best against Sinner.
Jim Courier, a former World No. 1 and a four-time Major champion, recently reflected on Djokovic's 2024 season and assessed his chances in 2025 on the Tennis Channel Inside-In podcast. Courier started with the Serb's coaching situation.
Since parting ways with Goran Ivanisevic earlier this year, the 24-time Grand Slam winner has not roped in a new full-time coach.
"This next year's going to be super telling. I think it's going to be really telling whether he adds a coach to his team in the off-season and shows up in Australia with a new idea and something new to think about. If he doesn't, he might have one foot out the door. If he does, has some fresh blood in his squad, then I would be bullish on him," Courier said.
The 54-year-old stated that after Ivanisevic left the Serb's camp, the latter did not seem interested in playing certain tournaments that he featured in this year. According to Courier, this may have had something to do with the 37-year-old making the Paris Olympics his primary goal.
"That was certainly a big moment, I thought, this year, when Ivanisevic departed early in the season and he seemed disinterested in some of the tournaments that he played in, which is understandable when you've done everything there is to do, especially when you consider him getting that gold medal, which was his primary focus," Courier added.
Earlier in the same episode, Courier had opined that Djokovic will likely trouble Sinner and Alcaraz in 2025, even though the 54-year-old suggested that the Serb would probably not compete against them week-in week-out.
Jim Courier says that Novak Djokovic will pose a threat to the "top guys" in 2025
According to Jim Courier, Novak Djokovic will prove to be problematic for Sinner, Alcaraz and others ranked in the ATP top 10 in 2025. However, at the same time, the four-time Major winner predicted that the Serb would not be able to go toe-to-toe with the Italian and the Spaniard at every big event.
The 24-time Major winner himself has maintained that his priorities going forward are the Grand Slams and international tennis events representing Serbia.
"Novak, I think, will continue to stay around and be a problem for the top guys. But it's going to be up to him how much he is going to engage with them, and it's certainly not going to be on a full level. So, this year is, no question, a big shift. All four of the Majors went to the youth," Courier said.
Despite Djokovic's relatively modest 2024, he is still ranked sixth. The Serb has expressed his desire to be back in competitive action from the first week of the 2025 season.