It sounds like a silly question. Will Djokovic win everything in 2024? After the ATP Finals in 2023, you have to ask it, though.

Despite struggling on and off in the group stage, he won two relatively routine wins in the semi-finals against Alcaraz 6-3 6-2 and in the finals against Sinner 6-3 6-3 (we got our prediction right), cementing him even further as the strongest player in the world by some margin.

Djokovic won seven titles in 2023. With three Grand Slams, he has spent 400 weeks as world number one, finished year-end number one for a record eighth time, and only lost two matches since May. How can he improve on that?

“Well, you can win four Slams and Olympic gold,” he said with a smile, alluding to the upcoming Paris Olympics. “Let’s see. I have always had the highest ambitions and goals. That’s not going to be different for the next year, that’s for sure. The drive that I have is still there. My body has been serving me well, listening to me well. I have a great team of people around me.

“Motivation, especially for the biggest tournaments in sport, is still present. It still inspires me to keep going. In the end of the day, people see you performing in the big tournaments, but they don’t see all the weeks and months of dedicated day-to-day, week-to-week work, trying to build your form so that you can peak where you want to peak. For me, obviously, those are the Grand Slams and the Finals, and next year, hopefully also the Olympic Games.

“The mindset is the same. I’ll keep going. I don’t know whether I’m going to have as good of a year next year, but I’m going to keep this freshness of mind and in a way motivation to do that.”

Novak Djokovic

What does it take to stop Djokovic?

Alcaraz famously did in the Wimbledon final, but otherwise, it has been close to impossible to defeat Djokovic in 2023. The recipe the Serb has for his success, just seems to be getting more and more powerful.

“When they play me, I want them to feel that it’s going to require the best tennis from them in order to win against me,” he said. “That’s what I want my opponents to feel, no doubt, because that helps mentally coming into the match.

“I think the more I win on the biggest stage, the more this kind of aura grows, and I’m glad for it, no doubt. Of course, that’s not going to win you the match, but it might give you the little percentage, the little edge.”

Novak Djokovic

Besides putting pressure on his opponents by taking the ball early and always hitting with brilliant depth, they are also intimated by his invincible aura. The opponent is already starting the match with some mental deficit in terms of believing they can win.

This will give him a powerful edge going into 2024. Will Novak Djokovic win everything in 2024? No, probably not, but it will require something extra special for players like Sinner, Alcaraz and Rune to stop him.

Check this article if you are interested in Novak Djokovic’s racquet specs.

There were some positive news from the Nadal camp recently. Nadal is coming back for the Australian Open 2024.

Nadal fans all over the world have had a rough year when it comes to rooting for their tennis hero. After his injury at the Australian Open in January, Nadal has not played a single event. But the Mallorquin has posted more and more training content on his Instagram and it now seems more and more likely that Nadal returns for the first grand slam of the year.

You can read more about Nadal’s injury here.

“I’m well, training, and happy. I’m at a good stage of my life. Until now, I didn’t know if I would play tennis again someday, and now I genuinely believe I will. I’m still not ready to say when, but I’m able to train increasingly longer, and the progress is good.”

“We know that the pain will never disappear, but I’ve taken a step forward,” said the Spaniard. “That’s a lot for me. Talking about tennis is another matter altogether, as is the level I’ll be able to play at. But the steps toward trying to play again have been big and positive, which is what we have been fighting for for several months. I’m confident I’ll be able to say something more specific in the coming weeks.”

Rafael Nadal

Is Nadal’s return at the Australian Open 2024 a 100%? No, with injuries you cannot take anything for certain, but we know he is doing everything in his power to return to the tour as quickly and as strongly as possible. As always, he has a very stoic and philosophical take on the sport.

“I haven’t played for a year. Personal success is often more rewarding than general success. The hope is that I’ll play again. You never know what will happen. My gut says it will be very difficult to get back to a good level of tennis. If I wasn’t hopeful of trying to be competitive, I wouldn’t be doing everything I’ve done over the past months at my age and after a long career.”

“The years pass by. My hope is that I will play again, and that is hugely satisfying to me on a personal level. I won’t win more Grand Slams than Djokovic, but I will have the chance to enjoy myself again.”

Rafael Nadal

Nadal has a way of understating his progress and once he is back on the professional tennis court, I am sure he will be a force to reckon with. Yes, maybe not winning any more Grand Slams (but doesn’t he have a career-long subscription to the French Open trophy?), but I am sure he will cause top players plenty of trouble.

What do you think Nadal can do in his return to the tour? We all know he is a fighter, so let’s just hope his body allows him to do what he does best for as long as possible.

Quotes from the ATP Tour.

It was a week of Allez les bleus on the ATP Tour. Adrian Mannarino and Ugo Humbert picked up ATP titles in Sofia and Moselle.

The Humbert win was according to our prediction in the post about Alexander Shevchenko. The Frenchman had a great week and can play at the highest level when he is in form. Can he bring this kind of game into 2024 on a regular basis? Then he can pose trouble to the top 10 in the world.

Before we get into countryman Adrian Mannarino’s win in Sofia…

Ugo Humbert’s Racquet

Ugo Humbert’s Racquet is a Blade 98 16×19, but the question remains on which model. The fellow racquet detectives at Tennis Warehouse forums reason that it is likely a 2015. Since I am a huge fan of the 2015 16×19 Blade myself, I’d like to think that they are right, but it’s not easy to know for sure unless you get to hold it in your hand.

The string looks like Luxilon 4G at first glance, but a stringer claims he strung Luxilon Original Rough at 22 kg (49 lbs) in 2020, and pro players are not keen on making changes to setups that work for them.

Many ATP pros are using the Wilson Blade, which I talk about here. If you are a Tennisnerd member, you might have caught a view of the new V9 Blade coming early next year.

How far do you think Humbert can go in 2024?

The trickiest player on tour?

Is Adrian Mannarino the trickiest player to beat on the tour? The talk around the locker rooms is that no one likes to play him. He has an awkward lefty style with short swings, and that low string tension can produce some unexpected spin and pace on his shots.

Jack Draper is a big hitter and made the final in Sofia close (7-6 2-6 6-3 to Mannarino), but in the end, Mannarino won his sixth ATP title, which should propel him to his best ATP singles ranking ever, within the top 20 unless I miscalculated.

I have joined a Mannarino practice (watch the video on the TN YouTube channel) and from up close you can see how talented he is timing the ball. He has a great touch and feel, which you need to be able to play with 10-12 kg string tension!

Mannarino has forced top ten players to shake their heads numerous times on tour and he remains a difficult draw as we move into 2024. Maybe he will bring a small trend of incredibly low string tensions with him? :)

Allez les bleus?

This is becoming a difficult question for the ATP Tour players. How do you beat Carlos Alcaraz? Grigor Dimitrov found the answer.

How do you beat Carlos Alcaraz?

Not many players have had the correct answer in 2023. Alcaraz so far has only nine losses and was leading the head-to-head versus Dimitrov by 3-0 before the match. But Dimitrov came in with a strong, aggressive game plan, while Alcaraz was not at his best.

Dimitrov got his biggest win of the season 5-7 6-2 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals of the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

Dimitrov kind of brought Alcaraz’s game to him, which is a smart tactic, but you still need to pull it off and huge kudos to Dimtriv for doing so.

Staying positive and IN THE MATCH

These quotes from Dimitrov are from the ATP Tour website

“I stayed in the match. That was the first thing, especially after the first set,” Dimitrov said. “I was serving very well throughout the first set and he made a few errors. I pushed him to make a lot of errors at certain moments. At 4-5, he played an amazing game and another at 6-5. I was creating a lot of opportunities.

“After the second break in the second set, I think I understood his service games and was able to put more balls in and read his serve a bit better. I think in the third set, it was a bit of cat-and-mouse. I think we both played a solid set. He made a few errors and I was very solid and served well when I had to.”

Is Alcaraz overhyped?

No, I believe the Alcaraz hype is justified. He brings fantastic energy and skills to the game. But he is also human. And a young one at that. We can’t expect him to win every match he plays. He seems to be learning from these losses at a fast rate, so I’m sure we will see an even better Alcaraz in 2023. And that is a scary thought for other players.

It’s also common to see more upsets towards the end of the season when the players are tired after months of traveling and playing. But nothing should be taken away from Dimitrov who can play amazing tennis and let his talent shine from time to time.