Novak Djokovic Not Interested on Surpassing Roger Federer, Ex-Pros Reveal Key Reason

At 38, Novak Djokovic has ticked off almost every milestone a tennis player could dream of. Earlier this season, he lifted his 100th ATP title in Geneva, a landmark moment that stood out in a year where Grand Slam victories have eluded him. Just weeks later at Flushing Meadows, he notched his 192nd career win at a hard-court major, eclipsing Roger Federer’s all-time men’s record. Yet even with those achievements, Djokovic still sits behind Jimmy Connors (109 titles) and Roger Federer (103) on the all-time ATP titles list, making his century mark less a finish line than another measure of how far he has already gone.

Despite still trailing Connors and Federer in total titles, Djokovic himself seems uninterested in padding his numbers, and former American pros Sam Querrey and John Isner agree. According to them, Djokovic has amassed so many laurels already that he does not need to prove himself anymore going forward. Be it regarding stats or any other milestone. Sharing his honest take during an episode of the ‘Nothing Major podcast’, Querrey said, “I don’t think it’s important to him. Based on what his calendar was this year, the last three tournaments he played were Roland Garros, Wimbledon, US Open. If Novak wanted to surpass those guys, he could. He could go load up with 250s and win them, because as we saw this year, he made the semi-finals of all majors. So in major tournaments, he’s the third-best player in the world.”

He further underlined, “I think he’s generally looked at as the third-best player in the world right now. He could go sign up for a handful of 250s this year and probably won 10 of them. So for that reason alone, I don’t think those numbers of surpassing Federer and Jimmy Connors are important to him at all.” The reasoning is clear when you look at Djokovic’s 2025 schedule.

In 2025, Novak Djokovic has significantly reduced his tournament schedule, focusing primarily on Grand Slam events. After his semifinal loss at Wimbledon in July, he opted to skip the North American hard-court swing, including tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati. Djokovic cited two main reasons for this decision: a desire to spend more time with his family and a diminishing enjoyment of the two-week Masters tournaments. He expressed that he has “earned the right” to choose his schedule. It all goes on to show his focus on quality over quantity.

Agreeing with him, Isner reacted, “Yeah I am with you there. I think he’s cemented his place as the greatest tennis player of all time.” Currently, Djokovic is trying to stay afloat despite the on-court setbacks. Yes, he made it to the semis of all four slams in 2025, but the Serbian failed to enter the summit clash in any of them, for the first time in years. After losing to Alcaraz at Flushing Meadows, doubts have popped up about how long he can continue fighting on the court.

Novak Djokovic’s honest admission after US Open heartbreak

Last week, Carlos Alcaraz toppled Novak Djokovic in a straight-set encounter to advance into the summit clash in New York. Observing his overall run this season and struggles to go past the Spaniard and Jannik Sinner on multiple occasions, sports commentator Catherine Whitaker had an honest reaction to share. Especially on the Serbian’s career moving forward amid retirement rumors.

Even Djokovic had to confess that it is now getting challenging for him to beat Alcaraz and Sinner. “I can do only as much as I can do. Yeah, it will be very difficult for me in the future to overcome the hurdle of Sinner, Alcaraz, in the best-of-five on the Grand Slams. I think I have a better chance best-of-three, but best-of-five, it’s tough.”

In fact, if we look at the stats, between 2011 and 2016, Djokovic averaged just over 80 matches per calendar year. More recently, between 2018 and 2023, he averaged around 60 matches per year. The Serb played just 45 matches last year. If Djokovic plays at least a couple of the remaining tournaments this year between the Shanghai and Paris Masters as well as the ATP Finals, he’d be able to reach closer to his title count.

Speaking of his next appearance in an ATP event, Djokovic will compete at the Hellenic Championship. The ATP 250 event will take place in Athens in November before the ATP Finals. Perhaps, the 24-time slam king is thinking of wrapping up the season with a deep run in Athens, followed by Turin. But will he be able to do it? Only time will tell.