Four-time champion Novak Djokovic confirms return to Shanghai Masters

After missing the previous three Masters 1000 events, Novak Djokovic will return to the big time in the Shanghai Masters, a tournament that he has won four times.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion participated in the first 1000 events of the year, underperforming massively compared to his ridiculously high standards. He lost in the second round at the Indian Wells Open, Monte-Carlo Masters, and Madrid Open, while being defeated by Jakub Mensik in the Miami Open final, losing two tiebreaks against the young Czech star.

He did not play any part in the Rome Open, choosing to play in the ATP 250 event in Geneva, in which he triumphed in to clinch his 100th singles title on tour, winning in a record-breaking 20th season. He only sits behind Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) in the Open Era.

Since then, Djokovic has only participated in the three culminating Grand Slam events, where he departed at the semi-final stage in all of them. He missed out on the Canadian Open, along with many of his rivals, as well as the Cincinnati Open, as he ramped up preparations for his Flushing Meadows campaign.

This is Djokovic's 14th Shanghai Masters, with the Serbian endurring previous success in the 1000 event, winning it more times than anyone else. He won it fir the first time back in 2012 in a thrilling three-set contest against Andy Murray. He went back-to-back in 2013, this time defeating Juan Martin del Potro in a last-set tiebreaker.

He would fail to defend his title in 2014, losing to Federer in the semi-finals, but claimed his third title in Shanghai a year later, overcoming Murray in the semis before taking a commanding victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

His fourth and final win to date occured in 2018, clinically disposing of Borna Coric. He failed to make it past the quarter-finals in 2019, before the event was not held between 2020-2022 due to COVID-19 restrictions. He would return in 2024 and achieve his first and only Masters 1000 final that year, losing to Jannik Sinner.

There is a good chance he may reunite with the world number two, or the man who dispossessed the Italian of the number one ranking, Carlos Alcaraz. The last time he was able to beat either of them came at the start of the year in Melbourne, where he overcame the Spaniard in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open. If he wants to win a record fifth Shanghai Masters, then he will need to get over his recent blips against the big two. The event will be played out from 1st-12th October.

Djokovic will traverse to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to participate in the Six Kings Slam, held between 15th-18th October. The 38-year-old will be joined by Sinner, Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, and Stefanos Tsitsipas, who steps in for Jack Draper due to injury. Each player will accumulate $1.5 million for participating, with a $6 million prize fund on offer for the winner.

His next stop would be the event he and his family own: the Athens Open, between 2nd-8th November. It will be its first event since 1994. With Djokovic prioritising this event, there is a chance that he will not feature in the Paris Masters, the final Masters 1000 event of the year, with it finishing on the same day the tournament in Greece kicks off.

It is also yet to be seen if he travels to Turin to compete in the ATP Finals. He skipped it last year due to injury, previously winning it in his last two events participated in. He will comfortably qualify for the event, currently placed in third in the Race to Turin rankings, behind Alcaraz and Sinner.