Djokovic still motivated, aims to get ranking 'back where it should be'

Last year was the first in which Djokovic did not win a single grand slam title since 2017, and just the second since 2010.

The 24-time major champion reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open and the final of Wimbledon, only to be trounced by Carlos Alcaraz in that SW19 showpiece match.

He was dumped out of the US Open in the third round by Alexei Popyrin and dropped to a lowly seventh in the end-of-year ATP Rankings, with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz winning two major titles apiece.

Djokovic is hoping for a vast improvement in 2025, though, as he prepares to open his campaign at the Brisbane International, where he is the top seed.

"I'm looking to play more tournaments this year than I played last season, so hopefully also my level is going to go up," Djokovic said.

"Hopefully I will win a few more tournaments and my ranking will go up to where it should be."

Rinky Hijikata will be Djokovic's opening opponent at his first official tournament since finishing as runner-up at the Shanghai Masters in October.

He will then head to Melbourne Park for the Australian Open, which starts on January 6 and concludes on January 26.

Djokovic has seen his fierce rivals Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal hang up their rackets in recent years, but the 37-year-old is not thinking of retirement just yet.

"The way I'm feeling today, I still think that I can go strong for years to come," he said.

"But how long I'm going to feel motivated to keep going is unpredictable. I still love this sport and I still love competing."