Novak Djokovic ups his game: ‘I don’t want to live off the land’

The Belgrade champion showed himself more charged than ever

He finished the year as best he could. By doing what he has often done throughout his extraordinary career: winning. Novak Djokovic, fresh triumphant at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, spoke in Marbella at the Asics Tennis Summit, an event where the Japanese brand unveiled a new line of sports footwear for 2023.

“2022 taught me that I have to aim for the big tournaments, to win them. And I also want to keep playing for my country. I want to stay whole and compete at the highest level, because I don’t see myself at No. 25 ATP so much as living, I want to win as much as I can,” a combative Nole began.

There is also room for a curiosity about his playing style, the subject of interest from fans and insiders: “A lot of people ask me why I slide a lot in my game: it comes a lot from skiing, because in my family we used to ski a lot. I do it too, so it’s something that comes naturally to me, because it helps you recover your position on the court right away.”

Novak Djokovic, known to all as Nole is considered one of the best tennis players in history, by virtue of the records and titles he has won.
In 2021, he came close to achieving the Grand Slam, which only Rod Laver achieved in the Open Era in 1969 – but was defeated in three sets by Russian Daniil Medvedev in the Us Open final. The Serb is, moreover, the tennis player who has finished the season the most times (7) as No. 1 in the ATP ranking, as well as holding the all-time record of having spent a total of 373 weeks at the top of that ranking.