{"id":623652,"date":"2025-08-23T12:33:35","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T11:33:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/?p=623652"},"modified":"2025-08-23T12:33:45","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T11:33:45","slug":"novak-djokovic-critiques-two-week-masters-format-sees-possibility-third-guy-alcaraz-sinner-rivalry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/novak-djokovic-critiques-two-week-masters-format-sees-possibility-third-guy-alcaraz-sinner-rivalry\/","title":{"rendered":"Novak Djokovic Critiques Two-Week Masters Format, Sees Possibility for a \u2018Third Guy\u2019 in Alcaraz-Sinner Rivalry"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Novak Djokovic enters the 2025 US Open with no matches played since Wimbledon, but the 24-time Grand Slam champion is making more headlines for his words as of now. Speaking to reporters ahead of Flushing Meadows, the 38-year-old criticized the ATP&rsquo;s expanded two-week Masters 1000 events, questioning their place in an already bloated calendar, while also calling for a new challenger to break into the Alcaraz-Sinner rivalry.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">With the more games played causing injuries and fatigue, Novak Djokovic shares his thoughts on the two-week masters tournaments &#128483;&#65039;<br><br>Are the new generation playing too much tennis? &#129300; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/XkFJZE9GFk\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/XkFJZE9GFk<\/a><\/p>&mdash; TNT Sports (@tntsports) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tntsports\/status\/1959143883763257733?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>August 23, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Djokovic&rsquo;s Discontent With Tennis Calendar<\/h2><p>Djokovic has leaned into a Grand Slam-first schedule this season, skipping every ATP event since Roland Garros in favor of extra training and family time. The Serb admitted he no longer plays for ranking points but purely for joy and legacy. <em>&ldquo;To be quite frank with you, I don&rsquo;t enjoy the two-week Masters events,&rdquo;<\/em> Djokovic said.<em> &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just way too long for me. We have, unofficially, 12 Grand Slams a year when you think about it. I mean, a Grand Slam is two weeks and the other Masters events are almost two weeks as well.&rdquo;<\/em><\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">'I don't enjoy them': Novak Djokovic slams top tennis players for silence on two-week Masters events before <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/USOpen?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>#USOpen<\/a> return<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/5FUyV1OeMC\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>https:\/\/t.co\/5FUyV1OeMC<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Express Sports (@IExpressSports) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/IExpressSports\/status\/1959109718284407142?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>August 23, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>His comments underline a growing frustration among players, though few have spoken as bluntly. Djokovic suggested that the expansion has diminished variety and left little room for traditional tour stops. Despite being <em>&ldquo;cold&rdquo;<\/em> in terms of official matches, he insisted he has prepared diligently in training.<em> &ldquo;I decided not to play because I wanted to spend more time with my family,&rdquo;<\/em> he added. <em>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not chasing the ranking, not collecting points, not defending anything, etc. I just don&rsquo;t think about it anymore. What&rsquo;s important is where I find motivation and joy.&rdquo;<\/em><\/p><p>Over his two-decade career, Djokovic has lifted at least two trophies at every Masters event, yet he has drastically reduced his participation in recent years, bypassing Canada, Cincinnati, Madrid, and Rome. The shift reflects his narrowing focus on Slams and the fatigue other events bring with them.&nbsp;<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Novak Djokovic is aiming to achieve an Open era record-equalling fifth US Open men's singles title &#128074; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UMAWcGqC4J\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/UMAWcGqC4J<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Sky Sports Tennis (@SkySportsTennis) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SkySportsTennis\/status\/1959168313243635994?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>August 23, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Djokovic Room for the &ldquo;Third Guy&rdquo;<\/h2><p>Djokovic has also kept a keen eye on the tour&rsquo;s shifting power dynamics. He praised the ongoing duel between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner but hinted that tennis thrives when there&rsquo;s a <em>&ldquo;third guy&rdquo;<\/em> to disrupt the script. <em>&ldquo;There are players that are able to have that &lsquo;Djoker&rsquo; spot, the third spot,&rdquo;<\/em> he said with a grin. <em>&ldquo;I kind of empathize with the third guy, because I was in those shoes with Federer and Nadal. I want to see a third guy coming in.&rdquo;<\/em><\/p><p>For now, Djokovic begins his US Open campaign against American Learner Tien. Whether he&rsquo;s cold or not, he&rsquo;s still very much in the mix, on court and in conversation.&nbsp;<\/p><p><em>Mandatory Image Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"mm-layout mm-layout-type-post mm-layout-slot4\">\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Djokovic questions the ATP\u2019s two-week Masters format while also seeing the possibility for a &#8216;third guy.&#8217;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":623653,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_mux_skip_reasons":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[4770],"tags":[9371,5619,4949,7904],"class_list":["post-623652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tennis","tag-atp-masters","tag-jannik-sinner","tag-novak-djokovic","tag-us-open-2025"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Novak Djokovic Critiques Two-Week Masters Format, Sees Possibility for a &lsquo;Third Guy&rsquo; in Alcaraz-Sinner Rivalry - The Playoffs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover Novak Djokovic&rsquo;s critique of the two-week Masters and his view on a &lsquo;third guy&rsquo; in the Alcaraz&ndash;Sinner rivalry ahead of 2025 US Open.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/novak-djokovic-critiques-two-week-masters-format-sees-possibility-third-guy-alcaraz-sinner-rivalry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Novak Djokovic Critiques Two-Week Masters Format, Sees Possibility for a &lsquo;Third Guy&rsquo; in Alcaraz-Sinner Rivalry - The Playoffs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Discover Novak Djokovic&rsquo;s critique of the two-week Masters and his view on a &lsquo;third guy&rsquo; in the Alcaraz&ndash;Sinner rivalry ahead of 2025 US Open.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/novak-djokovic-critiques-two-week-masters-format-sees-possibility-third-guy-alcaraz-sinner-rivalry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Playoffs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-23T12:33:45+01:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Novak-Djokovic-Critiques-Two-Week-Masters-Format-Sees-Possibility-for-a-\u2018Third-Guy-in-Alcaraz-Sinner-Rivalry.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1094\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"730\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rudra Dubey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Rudradubey1997\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ThePlayoffsEN\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rudra Dubey\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/novak-djokovic-critiques-two-week-masters-format-sees-possibility-third-guy-alcaraz-sinner-rivalry\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/novak-djokovic-critiques-two-week-masters-format-sees-possibility-third-guy-alcaraz-sinner-rivalry\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Rudra Dubey\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/15c91db82a62cd89d8f4f7e5c13e123b\"},\"headline\":\"Novak Djokovic Critiques Two-Week Masters Format, Sees Possibility for a \u2018Third Guy\u2019 in Alcaraz-Sinner Rivalry\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-23T11:33:35+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-23T11:33:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/novak-djokovic-critiques-two-week-masters-format-sees-possibility-third-guy-alcaraz-sinner-rivalry\/\"},\"wordCount\":470,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/novak-djokovic-critiques-two-week-masters-format-sees-possibility-third-guy-alcaraz-sinner-rivalry\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.theplayoffs.news\/en\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Novak-Djokovic-Critiques-Two-Week-Masters-Format-Sees-Possibility-for-a-\u2018Third-Guy-in-Alcaraz-Sinner-Rivalry.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"ATP Masters\",\"Jannik Sinner\",\"Novak Djokovic\",\"US Open 2025\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Tennis\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2025\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/novak-djokovic-critiques-two-week-masters-format-sees-possibility-third-guy-alcaraz-sinner-rivalry\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/novak-djokovic-critiques-two-week-masters-format-sees-possibility-third-guy-alcaraz-sinner-rivalry\/\",\"name\":\"Novak Djokovic Critiques Two-Week Masters Format, Sees Possibility for a \u2018Third Guy\u2019 in Alcaraz-Sinner Rivalry - 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