Novak Djokovic, the twenty-four Grand Slam winner, has announced that he won’t be competing in the 2023 Shanghai Masters, the penultimate ATP Masters 1000 event of the season.
For the first time since 2019, the Shanghai Masters is returning to the APT calendar but unfortunately their comeback edition would not feature the reigning No1 Novak Djokovic.
Novak Djokovic announces ATP tour break
Novak Djokovic will not take part in the Laver Cup and he had already confirmed that he won’t defend his Astana Open Title come October. He is coming off from a physical and emotional stretch that saw him win the title in the Cincinnati Open and US Open. After which, he headed to Valencia, where he helped Serbia earn a place in November’s Final 8 knockout stage of the Davis Cup finals. Djokovic will be hoping to help Serbia win their second Davis Cup, after winning it for the first time in 2010.
The thirty-six year old Tennis star announced his withdrawal from the Shanghai tournament via his Instagram stories, “Over the years, some of the best I receive anywhere in the world is China. Shanghai has always been one of my favorite tournaments in the season.
I will be missing my #NoleFam in China. I hope that I can come in the future and play in front of all of you again.”
Novak Djokovic has made nine appearances at the Shanghai tournament, of which he won the title four times and got to the semi-finals four times throughout his illustrious career. He also owns a 34-5 record at the event.
Over the years, some of the best support I receive anywhere in the world is in China. Shanghai has always been one of my favorite tournaments in the season. I will be missing my #NoleFam in China. I hope that I can come back to China in the future and play in front of all of you…
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) September 17, 2023
Golden Opportunity for Alcarez to Reclaim Top Spot
On the back of winning the Cincinnati Open and US Open titles, Novak Djokovic currently lead No 2 Carlos Alcarez with 3,260 points in the ATP Rankings, but with Djokovic off from the Shanghai tournament Alcarez looks likely to reclaim the No1 spot by the end of the year.
Djokovic will drop 750 points as he won’t be defending his titles in Astana (500 points on October 16) and Tel Aviv (250 points on October 2), which will automatically put him 2,510 points ahead of Alcarez in second place.
However, Carlos Alacrez has no points to defend until October 24 when he will drop 180 points for the Swiss Indoors. The Spaniard will compete at the China Open from September 24 and Shanghai Masters. If he wins both titles then the difference could be just 1,010 points, which would increase again by 180 points at the end of October due to the Swiss Indoors.
This would leave Alcarez within striking distance at the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals. Alcarez has 180 points to defend in Paris and Djokovic 600. Meanwhile, the two time Grand Slam winner, Carlos Alcarez, missed last year’s ATP Finals while Djokovic won the title.
