"They have a really high standard" - Novak Djokovic compares quality of Shanghai Masters to other ATP Masters events

The Shanghai Masters is one of the several ATP Masters 1000 tournaments held each year, and Serbian tennis superstar Novak Djokovic has expressed his love for the event, pointing out some benefits top players receive when competing in Shanghai.

Djokovic will be making his return to competition at the Shanghai Open, after a semifinal loss at the US Open last month. The former World No.1 fell to Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets at Flushing Meadows, with the Spaniard going on to win the Grand Slam event.

Alcaraz recently announced his withdrawal from the Masters 1000 event, leaving World No.2 Jannik Sinner as the top seed. The Italian has been a thorn in Djokovic's side this season, defeating the Serbian in consecutive Grand Slam events, at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

Nonetheless, Djokovic believes he has a better chance at toppling Sinner in a best-of-three match setting. Additionally, the 38-year old spoke on why he prefers playing at Shanghai as opposed to other similar tournaments.

The former World No.1 will be making his 14th appearance at the Shanghai Masters this year, and he made his return to the event last year after a five-year hiatus. Djokovic would reach the final at last year's event, but lost to Sinner.

With Djokovic once again set to compete in Shanghai this year, the 24-time Grand Slam champion spoke on why he enjoys playing there. Furthermore, he praised the tournament for their high standards and treatment of players.

"Actually my first Masters Cup, what they call it now is the World Tour Finals was here back in 2007,” said Djokovic. “Amazing facility, obviously completely different type of comfort that top players experience here in particularly compared to other tournaments in this category, with having your own locker room, makes a difference.
"You know the quality of organization is great, you know really, really high standard and it’s been like that for years. You know, Chinese people are very passionate about their racket sports, tennis of course long tradition in Shanghai and yeah I just love it, I love the people and I had a fantastic year last year, played finals and came back to China after six (five) years…so I’ll try to be more ready."

As the fourth seed, Djokovic is one of the top eight players at the Shanghai Masters this year who will receive their own private locker room. The Serbian has won the title four times in Shanghai, and will kick off his quest for a fifth title on Friday when he faces 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic.