After failing to greet his Chinese fans at the airport upon his arrival, Novak Djokovic has apologized.
The famous tennis player from Serbia arrived in China for the highly regarded Shanghai Masters, his first visit since 2019. When fans in Shanghai stopped Djokovic, he gave an explanation, saying that he had been taken out of one exit at the airport and into another.
Djokovic later explained in a statement: “I am in China after five years, and I miss you. I’m so sorry—really sorry that we didn’t meet at the airport yesterday. I was sad when I found out; I didn’t know you were there. They took me to another exit. I hope to see many of you in Beijing or Shanghai soon. I’m excited to be in China, mostly because of you, who have been following me for years. I love you; I love you all.”
After losing to Alexei Popyrin in the third round of the US Open, Djokovic is looking to return to winning ways. With a £820,000 winners’ cheque up for grabs, the Serb is keen to leave his mark and has his sights set firmly on winning his fifth title in China.
The Serbian has plenty of time to get ready because he advanced to the second round by default and will face the winner of Alex Michelsen vs. Yunchaokete Bu.
If Djokovic prevails, he might have to contend with Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals and possibly No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev in the semifinals.
Novak Djokovic in 2024
Ranked no.4, Novak played his last match on the 14th of September when he overcame world no.773 Ioannis Xilas 6-0 6-1 in the Rubber 2 of the Davis Cup (draw).
At present, during this year Novak has a compiled 32-8 win-loss record. Djokovic conquered 1 title in Paris. The Serbian reached the final in Wimbledon.
Novak conquered 1 title in 2024 in Paris. Djokovic was the runner-up in Wimbledon.
Djokovic won 100 titles in his career: 53 on hard courts, 20 on clay courts, 19 on indoor courts and 8 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
He is also scheduled to play in Paris (Rolex Paris Masters). The main draw will start on the 28th of October.
Novak Djokovic |
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