Novak Djokovic is enjoying “a little bit of an off-season” as he is using the “smaller” events to prepare for the French Open, Wimbledon and the Olympics, according to tennis great Mats Wilander.

The 2024 season has been a curious one so far for Djokovic as his Australian Open title defence came to an end in the semi-final as he was beaten in four sets by eventual champion Jannik Sinner.

The 24-time Grand Slam winner then opted to skip the Qatar Open before finally making his return at the Indian Wells Open at the beginning of March, but he was then stunned in the third round by the unheralded Luca Nardi, who was ranked No 123 at the time.

READ MORE ;Why Novak Djokovic’s Miami Open move makes sense as he shifts focus to two key goals

Djokovic was then due to appear at this week’s Miami Open, but withdrew from the ATP Masters 1000 event citing “balancing his private and professional schedule”.

But while the lack of titles and match practice could be problematic for other players, former world No 1 Wilander says there is no reason to be concerned if you a Djokovic fan as it is all part of a bigger plan for the Serbian with his focus on the Grand Slams and 2024 Paris Olympics.

“Novak Djokovic doesn’t really care when he loses in the smaller tournaments,” the seven-time Grand Slam winner told Eurosport.

“I mean, he would like to win every tournament, he’d like to win every match. But I do think that sometimes these days he goes on a trip just to test himself.

“‘How good has my practice been back home?’ or wherever he’s been practicing, and then he gets to a tournament and he’s playing the other pros, the best players in the world, and he realises after he wins a round or two or three or whatever the result is, I think he realises, ‘oh okay, I’m close enough, I don’t need to be any better at this particular moment’.

“‘The French Open is two months away and that’s when I need to be at my best for the French, for Wimbledon’, and then you push through and hope for the Olympics.

“But right now, in terms of competition, it is a little bit of an off-season. It would be great to win the Sunshine Double again for Novak Djokovic, but he’s not even playing in Miami.

“So basically, it’s a [case of] getting a couple of matches, understand that he’s very close, ‘I’m going to go home, I’m going to practice again and then I’ll be ready for the next match’.

RELATED ;Andy Murray Joins Elite Club Ft. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal After Defeating Matteo Berrettini at Miami Open 2024

“But I’m not worried. I was always worried about Novak winning too much and I think the last few years he hasn’t won too much on tour, which is why he’s winning so many Grand Slam tournaments because he’s fresh. I don’t think it matters.

“This surface again is not perfect for Novak with the slow bounce, the high bounce; I think that he prefers a faster court.

UPDATE ;Novak Djokovic terrifies me Believe he could sleep with his eyes open Serb winning Blink Challenge at Indian Wells delights fans

“So I think he goes and realises that Luca Nardi is another young Italian who’s really good. There’s a lot of good players out there who aren’t worried about Novak in terms of the physical part, unless it’s three out of five sets and then they become worried.

Novak Djokovic has decided to skip the 2024 Miami Open following his surprise early exit in Indian Wells in a decision that reinforces his priorities and focus on the big picture. 

Having entered Miami, Djokovic had planned to play the ATP Masters 1000 tournament for the first time since 2016, but he has now altered his schedule.

The world No 1 suffered a huge upset at the hands of world No 123 Luca Nardi in the third round of the 2024 Indian Wells Open earlier this week.

READ MORE ;Novak Djokovic vs Aleksandar Vukic Live Stream Tips Djokovic to Cruise to Victory at Indian Wells

Serbian journalist Sasa Ozmo reported on Thursday that Djokovic would not feature in the second leg of the ‘Sunshine Double’ in Miami, which will run from March 20-31.

While Djokovic’s withdrawal may surprise some given his titleless start to 2024 and fairly limited action so far this season, it is a move that makes sense in a number of ways.

Firstly, it allows Djokovic significantly more time to prepare for the European clay-court season. Playing the hard-court tournament in Miami would have meant a swift surface change had Djokovic gone deep at the event, which ends just a week before the first big clay-court tournament begins in Monte Carlo on April 7.

This may not have been the ideal preparation for a crucial part of the campaign for the tennis legend, who turns 37 in May and has managed his schedule masterfully in the latter part of his career.

The build-up to the year’s second Grand Slam at Roland Garros is now, understandably, the priority for Djokovic — who has repeatedly stressed in recent years that peaking for the four majors is his primary focus at this stage.

JUST IN ;Novak Djokovic gets no sympathy from umpire after controversial play in humiliating loss to Luca Nardi

The 24-time Grand Slam titlist is the defending champion at the French Open, having downed Casper Ruud to claim his third title at the clay-court major last year.

Djokovic suffered his first loss at the Australian Open since 2018 when he was beaten by eventual champion Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals of the 2024 edition in January following a lacklustre performance.

This means this year’s French Open, arguably, takes on heightened importance for Djokovic after a rare instance of him missing out in Melbourne, where he is an 11-time winner.

The fact the 2024 Olympic Games will be staged on the red clay courts at Stade Roland Garros could be another reason for Djokovic to place added emphasis on training on the surface and having a strong clay-court campaign.

Along with fighting for every Grand Slam title, Djokovic has frequently outlined that representing Serbia remains a big priority for him. Winning a medal at the Olympics, in particular, is a huge goal.

RELATED ;Novak Djokovic terrifies me Believe he could sleep with his eyes open Serb winning Blink Challenge at Indian Wells delights fans

An Olympic gold medal is the only major prize in tennis to have eluded Djokovic during his astonishing career to date, with his best result at the Games coming in 2008, when he earned a bronze.

While the Miami Open is a highly prestigious tournament, the Serbian has already won it six times, and it is not on par with the four majors or the Olympics.

The 1000 ATP ranking points on offer are valuable, but not crucial to Djokovic, given he is guaranteed to retain the world No 1 position until after the event –since he is defending no points from 2023.

UPDATE ;Novak Djokovic confirms Nadal withdrawal from Indian Wells signals the end of an era

In any case, retaining top spot is no longer as critical for Djokovic as he already holds the all-time records for the most weeks at world No 1 and ATP year-end No 1 finishes — the former by a huge margin that continues to grow.

Novak Djokovic’s upset loss earlier this week did not come without some controversy.

Luca Nardi, the 123rd-ranked player in the world, upset the world’s best in Djokovic Monday at Indian Wells, beating him 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the round of 32 of the BNP Paribas Open.

During the second set, there was a moment when Nardi seemed surprised by an “in” call and casually hit the ball back over the net. After some apparent confusion, Nardi won the point, which led to Djokovic complaining to the official about a potential hindrance.

Djokovic claimed Nardi “literally stopped,” but the chair umpire said just because Nardi stopped “doesn’t mean the point stops.”

READ MORE ;Novak Djokovic vs Aleksandar Vukic Live Stream  Tips  Djokovic to Cruise to Victory at Indian Wells

After the match, the two seemed to have a contentious discussion. It’s still unclear what was said, but the consensus on social media was Djokovic was shaming Nardi for the point.

The seemingly stern talk led to a lot of backlash.

“Appalling that Djokovic brought up the stopping play incident when he shook Nardi’s hand at the net 1) that point had nothing to do with the outcome of the match, 2) it’s not Nardi’s call to make, 3) umpire made the right call. “Stopping” happens all the time and never called,” wrote tennis writer Ricky Dimon.

X user @TroubleFault said the act was a “new low” for Djokovic.

RELATED ;Carlos Alcaraz to MARCA: I cried after losing to Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals in Turin

“This wasn’t the first time Novak Djokovic tried to cheat a point away from an opponent who won it fair & square by pretending he doesn’t know basic tennis rules. See, e.g., RG SF 2013, MIA QF 2014. But Djokovic berating Nardi after the match for doing nothing wrong is a new low,” that post said.

“Djokovic is struggling, so he needs to use antics to try and get in Nardi’s head,” another user wrote with crying laughing emojis. “Embarrassing.”

“Absolutely disgraceful, Novak! He did nothing wrong [for f—s sake, you are just being a sore loser!” said another.

With the win, Nardi became the lowest-ranked player to ever beat Djokovic in a Grand Slam or ATP Masters 1000 level event, surpassing Kevin Anderson, who did so in 2008 ranked No. 122.

UPDATE ;Is Jannik Sinner a Teetotaller Like Novak Djokovic? Recent Comments Draw Striking Parallels

“Before this night, no one knew me,” Nardi said. “I hope now the crowd enjoyed the game. I’m super happy with this one.”