24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic returns to the Shanghai Masters this week after five years. The Serb last competed in the competition in 2019 where he lost to Greek tennis player Stefanos Tsitsipas in the tournament’s quarterfinals.
The tournament will mark the first singles event for the Serb after his shock exit at the 2024 US Open. He failed to defend his title after losing to Australian tennis player Alexei Popyrin in the third round.
The Shanghai Masters main draw action is set to begin on Wednesday, October 2, with the qualifiers for the tournament already underway. Djokovic received a bye for the first round and will compete against the winner of the match between World No. 49 Alex Michelsen and World No. 96 Yunchaokete Bu in the second round.
The Rolex Shanghai Masters recently posted a video of the Serb arriving for the Masters 1000 event on X (formerly Twitter). Novak Djokovic can be seen entering the Qi Zhong Stadium for a practice session ahead of his opening match.
The Serb stated in the video that the Shanghai Masters is one of the most prominent events in the year-long tennis circuit. Djokovic also mentioned that he has produced some impressive performances while competing on the tour in China. Watch the video below:
Novak Djokovic is the most successful player in the competition at the Shanghai Masters, having won the event four times in his career (2012, 2013, 2015, and 2018).
Novak Djokovic opens up about his mindset for the ATP Tour Finals 2024
Novak Djokovic recently spoke about his thought process for the ATP Tour Finals 2024 scheduled to be held in November at the Inalpi Arena in Turin. The Serb won the competition last year after defeating current World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in straight sets.
However, this time around, Djokovic claimed he was not focused on the event. He said (via Tennis 365):
Djokovic also stated that he is not into planning far ahead for tournaments at his current age (37).
“He’s baaaack 😍 After five years, @DjokerNole returns to the #RolexShanghaiMasters!”
“Torino is not my goal at all, to be honest, I am not chasing ATP Finals, I am not chasing the rankings.”
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Source: CNN
