Djokovic speaks tough ahead of his Shanghai opener

Novak Djokovic, who is seeded fourth at the ongoing Rolex Shanghai Masters in China spoke ahead of yet another appearance in the country’s biggest city and central coast.

The 37-year-old Serbian and 99-time singles titlist has won the competition four times and is competing for the first time since 2019 whilst making his 10th appearance when he play in the first round on Friday.

“I wanted to play in China… I said, ‘Okay, I need to play the tournament in Shanghai, it’s the biggest event in China and one of the great 1000 events we have on Tour’. I missed being in China,” Djokovic told ATP Media.

“It’s been a while, five years. A lot has happened in the meantime in those five years for me and my career, so I was looking forward to coming and experiencing the love and energy and support that I’ve been getting from Chinese fans all these years.”

“I met some of them on the Tour the last couple of years and they were asking me in a way, ‘You need to come back to China and play!’ So I’m happy that I’m here, I really am,” Djokovic said. “It’s one of the most spectacular events. The stadium is just incredible, one of the nicest ones we have on the Tour in our sport.”

In the history of the Shanghai event, Djokovic holds the record for most victories (34) and titles (2012–13, 2015, 2018). This week, World No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings Djokovic is aiming for a milestone, as he usually does whenever he takes the court.

The fourth seed will seek to become the third man in the Open Era to earn 100 tour-level trophies and break his tie with Roger Federer for most titles on hard courts (71).

“I’ve had plenty of success here and in Beijing, won a lot of titles,” said Djokovic. “Hopefully that previous experience and the memories that I have can help me do well this year as well.”

Djokovic, who has a 34-5 record in tournament play, will take against both #NextGenATP Alex Michelsen and Buyunchaokete, the home favorite, in his first matchup.