Novak Djokovic appeared to have taken a big step towards qualification for the ATP Finals in Turin after his run to the Shanghai Masters Final last weekend, but he is not yet over the line in what could be a thrilling qualification race.

Seven-time ATP Finals champion Djokovic has made it clear that reaching this year’s ATP Finals is no longer a big motivating factor in his career, as he is training his ambitions on winning more Grand Slam titles and representing Serbia in the final chapters of his career.

“Torino is not my goal at all, to be honest, I am not chasing ATP Finals, I am not chasing the rankings any more,” he said last month.

“As far as I am concerned, I am done with those tournaments for my career. Whether I will play in other tournaments this year or in the future, I can’t say right now.

“My main priorities are playing for the national team and Slams, everything else is less important.”

Despite those comments, Djokovic appeared to have plenty of motivation as he performed at a high level in Shanghai and the Serbian confirmed he was pleased with his performances in the only tournament he played in China.

“There’s quite a few positives that I can take,” reflected Djokovic.

“First of all, I think the level of my tennis was really good this tournament, probably best after the Olympic Games in terms of how I played, how I performed, how I fought.

“Under the circumstances, you know, I felt maybe not a hundred per-cent fresh, but at the same time big credit to Jannik for playing the big points better than me, and that’s what made the difference. He deserved to win, he was just too strong in important moments.

“Nevertheless, I still think that even in the finals today I played pretty good, so, which, you know, gives me the reason to believe that I can still play with these guys that are best in the world at this level.

“Hopefully I can maintain that level in the upcoming months, and also for the future.”

Djokovic will qualify for the ATP Finals if he plays at the level he served up in Shanghai in the tournaments he chooses to play over the next few weeks, but there are some doubts over whether he will play any more regular tour events in 2024.

He has confirmed he will not play in the ATP 250 event in his native Serbia in the first week of November and with injury niggles in evidence during his matches in Shanghai, Djokovic may be hoping he doesn’t need to play at the Paris Masters later this month to cement his place in the ATP Finals.

His run in Shanghai took Djokovic up to No 6 in the ATP Race, with the top eight players qualifying for Turin.

Yet three big challengers are eyeing up a push to get closer to the Serbian legend in the rankings for 2024, with Alex de Minaur back in action this week and showing some good form in the ATP Tour event in Antwerp as he looks to rise from his current position of No 9 in the ATP Race list.

Andrey Rublev will play plenty of tournaments in the final month of the season as he looks to cement his current position of No 8 in the ATP Race.

Casper Ruud is at No 7 on the list and the Norwegian could face a showdown with Rublev in Stockholm that could be significant in the race for Turin.

While 37-year-old Djokovic looks reasonably secure in the chase for a place in the ATP Finals for now, anything is possible in what will be a thrilling end to the season.