At the Shanghai Masters, Novak Djokovic will be competing for the first time in five years as his 2024 post-Olympic plans come to light.
Djokovic is excited about winning his first title of 2024 at Roland Garros after defeating Carlos Alcaraz in an exciting final to win Olympic gold in Paris. The 37-year-old has also announced that he will be going back to China at the end of September, despite playing a more specialized schedule in previous years.
Following his 2023 US Open victory, Djokovic took a break from tennis until the end of the year, winning the Paris Masters and ATP Finals back-to-back before playing for Serbia in the Davis Cup finals.
But the Serbian’s choice to compete in the Masters 1000 in Shanghai this year points to a different strategy.
In a brief message shared on the tournament’s social media pages, Djokovic said: “Hello! I can’t wait to be back to play in the Rolex Shanghai Masters. You are so great, China. I love you. Thank you.”
Breaking: Novak Djokovic sets to play Shanghai Masters: Novak Djokovic will compete in Shanghai for the first time since 2019 https://t.co/Xeiwo3deQT #NovakDjokovic #Shanghaimasters pic.twitter.com/ftveHdXi6h
— TennisWorld USA (@TennisworldUSA) August 6, 2024
Novak Djokovic in 2024
At the moment ranked no.2, Novak played his last match on the 4th of August when he beat world no.3 Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(3) 7-6(2) in the final in Paris to win his 99th career title.
Currently, during this year the Serbian owns a composed 29-7 win-loss record. Novak has won 1 title in Paris. Djokovic was the runner-up in Wimbledon.
Djokovic has scheduled to play next in Cincinnati (Western & Southern Open). He will start from the main draw that will commence on the 12th of August.