Novak Djokovic has stated he is not focused on chasing the world number but rather winning more Grand Slam titles, Afrosport reports.
The Serbian has spent a record 428 weeks at number one in the ATP men’s singles rankings but is currently fifth behind Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz.
Djokovic began his quest for a 100th singles title with a 6-1, 7-6 third-round win over Camilo Ugo Carabelli at the Miami Masters on Sunday.
“If it comes as a consequence of great results and titles that I win in a season, then that’s amazing. But that’s not my objective,” the 37-year-old said.
“My objective is to be able to play my best tennis at the Grand Slams and the tournaments where I participate. My schedule is revised, so obviously I’m not chasing ranking points.
“It’s different nowadays, maybe, than it was a few years back [or] for most of my career, to be honest. I’m happy to win a Grand Slam and a big tournament rather than getting to number one. Right now, that’s more important for me.”
Only Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) have more titles than Djokovic who acknowledged that surpassing both men might be a difficult task.
“It would definitely be amazing to get to that record,” he added.
“Connors is someone that I truly admire and respect. He’s always very supportive of me in public, I’m thankful for that. It would be amazing.
“But again, it’s probably more difficult to achieve that nowadays for me than maybe it was some years ago. I’ll go step by step. I’ll see. I don’t know how long I’m going to compete for. But I’m still enjoying myself when I play well.”
Special milestone. Special player.
A record-breaking
th match win at Masters 1000 events for @DjokerNole
@MiamiOpen | #MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/6ovggJ58YR
— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 23, 2025
Djokovic has been battling with fitness issues lately and last won a title at the Paris 2024 Olympics where he claimed his first gold medal to complete a sweep of big tennis titles.
