Tsitsipas has the potential of being world number one. DJOKOVIC

After injuring his shoulder at the US Open, Djokovic returned to the court on the Asian swing of the tour. He played at the Japan Open this month and won the title without dropping a set. Heading into the Shanghai Masters, the world number one was among the favorites. He had won the title four times in his career and had reached the semifinals every time he had played at the ATP 1000 event. However, the 16-time Grand Slam champion lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals on Friday.

The Serbian lost the match 6-3 5-7 3-6. He praised Tsitsipas for coming from a set down to win the match. Tsitsipas called the match was the best comeback in his career. Djokovic said that he was not sharp during the match and that the 21-year-old deserved the win. The world number one shared his thoughts on the Greek’s chances of achieving the number one ranking in the future. He said that the Greek had the potential to be the best player in the game.

Djokovic struggling to keep his world no.1 rank to Nadal

After failing to win the title in Shanghai, Djokovic could lose the number one ranking to Rafael Nadal. He trails the Spaniard by 1,280 points in the race to end the year at number one. The Spaniard did not play in Shanghai. The 33-year-old withdrew from the tournament after suffering a wrist injury at the Laver Cup last month. He is also preparing for his wedding with fiancé Xisca Perello on 19^th October. After his loss to Tsitsipas, Djokovic responded to questions about the state of his shoulder. He assured reporters that the injury had nothing to do with his loss to Tsitsipas. He insisted that he would not panic in the race for the number one position. As he tries to defend the number one spot, the Serbian will stick to his schedule and play at the Paris Masters and then the ATP Finals.

Tsitsipas later lost to Medvedev in Shanghai

Tsitsipas’s victory over the Serbian confirmed his spot for the finals in London. The 21-year-old faced Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals in Shanghai on Saturday. He lost the match to the in-form Russian. The Russian will make his sixth consecutive appearance in an ATP tournament final. He will face Alexander Zverev on Sunday. The German defeated Matteo Berrettini to book his spot in the final.

Stefanos Tsitsipas’s ranking and performance in 2019

Ranked no.7, Stefanos played his last match on the 12^th of October when he lost to Daniil Medvedev 7-6⁵ 7-5 in the semifinal in Shanghai.

This year the Greek has a 44-22 win-loss record. Tsitsipas conquered 2 titles in 2019 in Marseille and in Estoril. The Greek was the finalist in Dubai, in Madrid and in Beijing.

Novak Djokovic’s ranking and performance in 2019

At the moment ranked no.1, Novak played his last match on the 11^th of October when he had to bow to Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6 7-5 6-3 in the quarter in Shanghai.

This year Novak has a 48-9 win-loss record. Novak has won 4 titles in 2019 at the Australian Open, in Madrid, in Wimbledon and in Tokyo. Novak was the finalist in Rome.

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Novak Djokovic played each other 3 times. The head to head is 2-1 for Tsitsipas.

The last time that they played each other, Stefanos Tsitsipas won 3-6 7-5 6-3 in the quarter in Shanghai in 11^th October 2019.

Here the highlights.