For the first time since 2019 - when he was defeated by Stefanos Tsitsipas - Novak Djokovic will return to play the Masters 1000 in Shanghai. The former world number 1 has decided to return to China for sponsor reasons after a long absence, as he admits that certain tournaments are no longer important to him at this point in his career.
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The 37-year-old from Belgrade is only focused on Grand Slam tournaments and events in which he can represent Serbia, such as the Davis Cup and the Olympics. The Serbian legend has fulfilled the biggest dream of her career by winning the gold medal in Paris this summer, showing off her best performance of 2024 against Carlos Alcaraz on the iconic Philippe Chatrier court.
The Olympic tournament was an exception in the year of Nole, who has almost never expressed his best tennis. Novak has played few tournaments and has not even excelled in the Majors, where he reached only one final at the Wimbledon Championships losing sharply against Alcaraz on Centre Court.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion was eliminated in the first week of the US Open, struggling to find the right motivation after his Olympic triumph. Djokovic confided that he had no long-term plans at the moment and would only play when he was really motivated. After the Masters 1000 in Shanghai, the former number 1 player will play the 'Six Kings Slam' in mid-October, along with top players such as Rafa Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune.
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Djokovic's path
Meanwhile, the draw for the Shanghai Masters 1000 has been released. Djokovic - who will have a bye in the first round - will debut against the winner of the match between Alex Michelsen and Yunchaokete Bu. His opponent in the third round should be Stan Wawrinka or Flavio Cobolli, while in the eighth he should face one between Alexander Bublik and Frances Tiafoe. His possible opponent in the quarterfinals should be Andrey Rublev, while in the semi-finals he could find Alexander Zverev or Taylor Fritz. It is not yet clear whether the German champion will play in Shanghai, having missed the ATP 500 in Beijing due to pneumonia.
Novak is still in the running for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, where he lifted the trophy last year by defeating Jannik Sinner in the final. The Serbian ace is very close to eighth place in the ATP Race held by Australian ace Alex de Minaur, but much will depend on how much Nole will want to play in this last part of the season.
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A particular season
In a recent interview with RTS Serbia, the 24-time Grand Slam champion reflected on his amazing win at the Paris Olympics this summer: There are several reasons why Olympic gold is the greatest success, Djokovic said. The biggest one is that I represented Serbia at the first major global world event. Its a rare opportunity to win a medal for your country.
I won bronze at the first Olympics. Against Nadal, I was close to reaching the final. After that I lost two semi-finals and two bronze medals. Those are the heaviest defeats in my career. In tennis, we are really lucky to be able to participate in the four biggest tournaments, the Grand Slams. We can prove ourselves every year. The Olympics are precious.
Just because I managed not to reach the finals in the first four Olympics. I had knee surgery, I managed to rise and reach the finals of Wimbledon, where I was defeated by the opponent I defeated in the finals of the Olympic Games, and that on the court that is very famous.
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He also added: Thats why I fell to the ground when I won the semi-final. I knew I wasnt going to stop there. The very fact that my closest people, my children, my team, members of the Serbian Olympic team were in the stands. I cant experience that in any other tournament. Having colleagues from other sports coming to support me gave me an extra boost. The most beautiful set of emotions was that, the day I beat Carlos Alcaraz in the final, when I fell to my knees. Ive been blessed, Ive experienced a lot of success, and this is the biggest.
In 2025, Nole will try to win his 25th Grand Slam title by writing a new page of history. The former world number 1 could also take to the assault on the record of titles won by Jimmy Connors. It will be interesting to see if the Serb will shock the world once again.
