Novak Djokovic handed nightmare Shanghai Masters draw as Carlos Alcaraz gets lucky
Novak Djokovic has been handed a nightmare Shanghai Masters draw, while Carlos Alcaraz will be breathing a sigh of relief. Djokovic has enjoyed a return to form on the Asian swing, impressing at the China Open and reaching the semi-finals. It comes after a dismal US Open for the 24-time Grand Slam champion, where he was dumped out in the opening round. But if Djokovic is to continue his resurgence at the ATP Masters 1000 event, he will have to bring his A-game, given that the 39-year-old has been given a tricky path to glory.
It’s looking as if Djokovic might have to play Lorenzo Musetti, Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton and Alexander Zverev just to get to the final, with his campaign getting underway against Hubert Hurkacz or James Duckworth.
And if the 2024 Olympic gold medalist makes it as far as the final, the most likely opponent is Carlos Alcaraz, who leads the way in the bottom half of the draw.
Speaking of Alcaraz, the Spaniard has a bye into the second round, along with a selection of other seeds. Alcaraz, drawn in the fourth bracket, will face either Juan Manuel Cerundolo or a qualifier in round two.
Elsewhere, Zverev’s campaign begins against either Wu Yibing or a qualifier, with Jannik Sinner having withdrawn from the tournament.
“I’m very sorry that I won’t be able to do so next week. Thank you for all your support. I’m looking forward to seeing you again next year!”
It means the world No.1’s last outing on a competitive tennis court came at Wimbledon, when the 25-year-old dropped just three sets all tournament en route to lifting the title.
Djokovic has had health problems of his own this season, with the tennis icon opening up about it during his impressive China Open run.
remarked over the weekend: “Yeah, I mean, look, I don’t want to go into details because then it’s going to sound like I’m whining about something or looking for excuses.
“Truth is that this year has been a big, big struggle for me with few particular issues that I’ve been having.
“I’ve been just trying to find different ways to at least get myself in decent condition physically and health-wise to be on the court and compete with the player across the net. If the player beats me, if he’s better, great.
