Novak Djokovic has stated his intention to push for qualification to this season’s ATP Finals in Turin, but that ambition may fall short unless he makes a big change to his plans in what is left of the season.

Djokovic has skipped the ATP Finals in recent years, even though he has qualified for the eight-man end-of-season event that is the marquee tournament for the ATP Tour.

So it was somewhat of a surprise when the 39-year-old declared he was keen to play in Turin next month after he won a remarkable 102nd career title in the ATP 500 event in Beijing earlier this month.

“Beijing was great and a very early exit here, but it is okay. I had a great week in Beijing, and I look forward to resting a little bit and get ready for the indoors,” said the Serbian.

When asked if he plans to play at the ATP Finals he added: “I would like to. I am planning on only playing in Paris, so let’s see. Hopefully I can have a good result there.”

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His early exit in Shanghai were a big blow to his hopes of reaching the ATP Finals and now he will face a huge uphill struggle to make the final eight in Turin unless he adds tournaments to his schedule.

An extended run at the Paris Masters may be enough to get him in the mix for the Turin finale, but he may need to reach the semi-finals or even win the event if his rivals in the race to Turin excel over the next few weeks.

With Jannik Sinner confirming he is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury, a ninth place finish in the ATP Race would be enough to secure qualification, but Djokovic has been edged out of the final place up for grabs after Alex de Minaur overtook him with his run to the quarter-finals in Shanghai.

Daniil Medvedev, who is currently in eighth place in the qualifying race, is on course to book his spot in Turin after a fine run in Shanghai and he will be playing at the Almaty Open in Kazakhstan next week in a big opportunity to boost his ranking points.

American Frances Tiafoe is also currently ahead of Djokovic in the race and he is set to play in an ATP Tour event in Lyon next week as he looks to wrap up a spot.

De Minaur is set to play in the ATP Tour event in Vienna later this month and if those three players perform well between now and the Paris Masters, Djokovic will face a huge task to reach the ATP Finals.

Current ATP Race list – top nine will qualify for ATP Finals in Turin (Oct 15)

1. Alexander Zverev – 9,150 points – Qualified

2. Jannik Sinner – 7,950 – Out for the season

3. Carlos Alcaraz – 4,600 – Qualified

4. Ben Shelton – 4,480 – Qualified

5. Flavio Cobolli – 3,540

6. Frances Tiafoe – 3,380

7. Arthur Fils – 3,325

8. Daniil Medvedev – 3,220

9. Alex de Minaur – 2,880

10. Novak Djokovic – 2,840

11. Rafael Jodar – 2,709

12. Tommy Paul – 2,585

13. Taylor Fritz – 2,530

14. Jakub Mensík – 2,495

15. Felix Auger-Aliassime – 2,465

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