Belgrade, September 30

Novak Djokovic no longer sees winning grand slam titles or staying top of the ATP rankings as a priority in his tennis career, Serbia’s world No 1 said today.

“I don’t want to think about winning titles and being the No 1 any more in order to avoid putting pressure on myself,” Djokovic, the winner of 12 major tournaments, told reporters. “I put too much pressure on myself after winning this year’s Roland Garros and I didn’t like it.”

Djokovic, who steamrolled to Australian and French Open titles in the first half of the season, has suffered a dramatic loss of form since and pulled out of next week’s China Open with an elbow injury. He lost to American Sam Querrey in the Wimbledon third round before he was knocked out in the opening round of the Olympic Games by Argentine Juan Martin del Potro.

Djokovic was unstoppable in 2015 when we won three out of four major titles and this year he finally completed a career slam after clinching his maiden French Open title by beating Briton Andy Murray in the final.