Djokovic eyes Connors’ record of 109 ATP Tour titles
The Serbian broke Rafael Nadal’s mark of 411 Masters 1000 wins at the Miami Open on Sunday
Tennis Majors / Psnewz
Novak Djokovic has another tennis record in his sights after breaking Rafael Nadal’s mark of 411 Masters 1000 wins on Sunday at the Miami Open.
Speaking to the media after his victory over Camillo Ugo Carbelli in the third round, the Serbian revealed that he is eager to overhaul Jimmy Connors’ ATP Tour title tally of 109 titles next.
“It would definitely be amazing to get to that record,” he said. “Connors is someone that I truly admire and respect. He’s always very supportive of me in public, so I’m very thankful for that.”
Djokovic is chasing his 100th title in Miami this week, having been stuck on 99 titles since winning the Paris Olympics in 2024. He’s third in the all-time list, with Roger Federer sitting above him on 103.
Titles more important than world No 1
Recent years have seen the 37-year-old Djokovic strip back his schedule and play far fewer events.
While most players will compete in at least 20 tournaments per year, Djokovic contested just 11 (plus Davis Cup) in 2024. He confessed that this reduced schedule will make his pursuit of Connors’ record more challenging.
“It’s probably more difficult to achieve that nowadays for me than maybe it was some years ago,” he said. “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.”
A by-product of Djokovic playing less is that his ranking has taken a hit. He currently sits at No 5 in the world, and has not been world No 1 since May 2024.
However, the 24-time Grand Slam champion made it clear that a return to world No 1 is not something on his radar at all.
“It doesn’t matter as much,” he explained. “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.
“”My objective is to be able to play my best tennis on the Grand Slams and the tournaments where I participate. My schedule is revised, so obviously I’m not chasing the ranking points and everything. It’s different nowadays maybe than it was a few years back, for most of my career to be honest.
“I’m happy to win a Grand Slam and big tournament rather than getting to No 1. Yeah, right now that’s more important for me.”
Focus on big titles reduces stress
Djokovic elaborated on his shift from a full schedule to targeting certain events, explaining that letting go of concern about his ranking has allowed him to feel less stress.
“It’s a different, time, different objectives, goals,” Djokovic said of how his mindset used to be towards his ranking. “I set my schedule in such way where I play a lot. I’m thinking about points, where I need to defend or not. There’s a lot that goes into that.
“But I always try to really work around my schedule so that I am able to have those practice weeks, which are really meaningful for me and my team, where I’m able to build my body, my mind and my game so that I’m able to excel when I need to, when I want to.
“But, yeah, I mean, there was more in terms of in the aspect of thinking objectives. It’s less now, less of that stress and pressure for me to say that all of a sudden I feel I have to play the next week because this week I didn’t generate enough points or didn’t have enough matches. I don’t have that.
“Nowadays for me it’s really playing what I want to play, what I enjoy playing, and trying to make the most out of it.”
