Novak Djokovic has confirmed he will compete at the Shanghai Masters, despite his extended run at the China Open. The Serb claimed the 102nd title of his professional career in Beijing on Tuesday, after Alex de Minaur retired midway through the second set of the final.
Djokovic reached the final without playing a full semi-final after Daniil Medvedev was disqualified for hitting a spectator in the face with a ball. That walkover, combined with de Minaur's retirement, meant Djokovic spent more time on court than expected, raising questions about his participation in Shanghai.
Bye into second round
As a seed, Djokovic has been granted a bye into the second round of the Shanghai Masters, with main draw action scheduled to start later this week. Despite his efforts in Beijing, the 39-year-old is still planning to play in Shanghai.
Djokovic last won the Shanghai Masters in 2018. Since then, he has reached the semi-finals twice and lost in the 2024 final.
Reflecting on Beijing
Speaking about his week in Beijing, Djokovic said: "Well, I landed here quite early to be honest, Saturday, more than 10 days ago. I really wanted to get myself in the right shape to prepare as best as I can to be able to have the week that thankfully I had. I wanted to keep the streak going."
He added: "Beijing was always my happy place. It continues to be. I always have high expectations for myself. The goals and desires are always high, particularly in a place where I never lost before. I haven't been here 11 years. I had a year filled with struggle and challenges, not many great results after the finals of the Australian Open. Yeah, I didn't know how I'm going to feel because the American swing was terrible in terms of feeling on the court, health-wise and physically."
"I must say in some of the matches here I did struggle, as well. I managed to kind of push through and really dig deep, turned some matches around. Of course, I'm very proud of the achievement here. It came at the best possible time as a confidence booster, as a proof that I can still play on the highest level. Winning against three top-10 players in a matter of three days back-to-back is a great achievement. I'm obviously filled with joy."
Shanghai draw
Djokovic, who sits 11th in the live ATP rankings, is on the same half of the Shanghai draw as Lorenzo Musetti, Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton and Alexander Zverev. World No.1 Jannik Sinner is not involved in the tournament, while Carlos Alcaraz is the highest-ranked player on the opposite side of the draw.
