Novak Djokovic astounded by Astana Open line-up

Novak Djokovic was surprised by the amazing lineup at the Astana Open comparing it to lineups at Masters events or grand slams.

The event in Astana is certainly stronger than your average ATP 500 event as we have multiple top 10 players in attendance. Carlos Alcaraz led the field as the top player in the world with Medvedev, Tsitsipas, Djokovic, Hurkacz and Auger-Alaissime all attending.

The rather sizeable prize money has certainly been a motivator for the players as well and Djokovic talked about the lineup after his win in Astana:

"The tournament had a very strong line-up and when I saw the draw I was surprised because such a line-up is usually gathered at the Masters or Grand Slams. I've spoken to other players and all are of the same opinion - everything is organised at the highest level here."

This is not the first time Djokovic is playing tennis in Astana either as he and Nadal staged an exhibition match in the city in 2019. Remembering that Djokovic said:

"The last time I was in Kazakhstan was in 2019, when Rafa and I had an exhibition match in Astana. We didn't get to see everything in one day, but now I'm playing the full-time tournament, so I have a whole week ahead, and I will definitely visit the local sights."