"What a remarkable achievement, given how few opportunities he had to garner points"- Journalist Steve Flink on Novak Djokovic's performance in the 2022 season

Rolex Paris Masters - Day Six
Novak Djokovic at the Rolex Paris Masters

American sports journalist Steve Flink praised Novak Djokovic's accomplishments in the 2022 season, given the Serbian's lack of opportunities.

The year 2022 has been a roller coaster of emotions for Novak Djokovic. His goal for the year was to win the most Grand Slam titles in tennis history, but since he was unable to compete in Australia and New York, the opportunity was missed.

With a major title win at Wimbledon, back-to-back titles in Tel Aviv and Astana, and a spot in the ATP Finals in Turin, Novak is getting things back on track.

In light of this, Steve Flink stated in a podcast interview with David Bellinson that Novak Djokovic managed to maintain his regular form moving forward and finish in the top 10 despite finding it difficult to shine in the year's opening tournaments.

Flink praised Djokovic's achievement as "remarkable," given the few opportunities he had to "garner" points. Flink said:

"I think that shows how great he is. Once he got his year going, it wasn't easy and initially the first few tournaments in Dubai, Monte-Carlo, he wasn't really himself. Then, slowly, he got going on the clay and from the time he, winning Rome, losing the Masters to Carlos in Madrid, from that point on the quarters in the French and winning the Wimbledon, the rest of the year, he has been pretty much the standard Novak."

The journalist further mentioned:

"Yes, he would have like to won that final over Rune [Holger Rune], it's a slight setback. He has played so many few events than any other top players and he still ends up finishing the year somehow in the top 10. What a remarkable achievement, given how few opportunities he had to garner points."

"It would be a perfect ending to the season, the cherry on the cake, for sure"- Novak Djokovic on playing at the ATP Finals

Novak Djokovic at the Nitto ATP Finals.
Novak Djokovic at the Nitto ATP Finals.

Novak Djokovic is all set to play in the Nitto ATP Finals. The Serb is in the Red group alongside Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, and Daniil Medvedev.

The Green group, on the other hand, includes Rafael Nadal, Casper Ruud, Taylor Fritz, and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

In light of this, the 21-time Grand Slam champion expressed his desire to round off his year on a high note at the year-ending tournament in a recent interview with the ATP. Novak said:

"It would be a perfect ending to the season. The cherry on the cake, for sure, but it’s a long way. It’s a long week."

The five-time Nitto ATP Finals champion expressed confidence that his tournament experience will "serve" him going into the competition. The Serb said:

"You’ve got to play the best players in the world [here]. You have to play more or less everyone in this tournament at least once, so I look forward to it. I’ve had experience in this tournament, in this format, many times and hopefully that can serve me in a good way."

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