Novak Djokovic is gearing up for a return to tennis in China at the Shanghai Masters.
The Serbian star was last seen on court at the US Open, where Djokovic lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals.
He wasn’t expected to return until the Six Kings Slam exhibition event in October, but had a change of heart last minute.
Next week, Djokovic will compete at the Shanghai Masters, alongside his two biggest rivals, Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
Looking ahead to the 38-year-old’s trip to China, Nick Kyrgios’ former coach has suggested how Djokovic will react if he doesn’t win the tournament.
Simon Rea thinks Novak Djokovic will consider his trip to Shanghai a ‘fail’ if he doesn’t win
Appearing as a guest on ‘The Tennis’ podcast, Kyrgios’ former coach, Simon Rea, shared his thoughts on Djokovic’s upcoming Shanghai Masters appearance.
“Novak’s off to Shanghai, we know we’ve seen him on a reduced schedule in 2025, we haven’t seen a lot of activity from him outside of the Grand Slams, certainly in recent times, so looking forward to seeing the brand of tennis that he brings to the court there,” he said.
Novak Djokovic’s last three tournaments
- 2025 US Open (Grand Slam) – Lost in SF
- 2025 Wimbledon (Grand Slam) – Lost in SF
- 2025 French Open (Grand Slam) – Lost in SF
“In terms of what does success look like for Novak in Shanghai? I think semifinals or better is par.
“I think you become a victim of your own success. For mere mortals, it’s maybe winning a couple of matches and finding your way again on hard, but for this guy, he’ll be looking at anything less than a title as a fail for him.
“I think semifinals or better is a resounding success and building towards some of the bigger events at the back end of the year on the European indoor swing.”
Despite predicting Djokovic to fall short in the semifinals, Rea does believe the Serb has a better chance to beat the world’s top two players in the best-of-three sets format.
“I referenced semifinals, because if you forecast forwards to that, what happens at that point in time at a best-of-three event, you have more petrol in the tank,” he said.
“You haven’t spent so many of your tickets in getting there, you have more energy, more reserves to call upon in those moments where you really need them up against your [Jannik] Sinner’s and your [Carlos] Alcaraz’s at the business end of those tournaments.
“That’s potentially a differentiator that allows him to have more success against those guys than what we’ve seen in best of five.”
Rea thinks that if Djokovic were to beat either player in Shanghai, it could give him the edge at the Grand Slams in 2026.
“I just think in that hypothetical world where he’s able to get over the top of one of or both of Alcaraz and Sinner at the business end of the tournament, I think it does give some renewed hope, some renewed belief,” he said.
“We know the margins are fine when you get to the business end of these events, which perhaps he’s been lacking at the best-of-five set level.
“Best-of-three-set tennis could be a good vehicle to shift the needle towards best of five.”
Djokovic will certainly hope to pick up the title next month and improve his impressive Shanghai Masters record in the process.
Novak Djokovic has won four Shanghai Masters titles
Since the event was introduced to the Masters 1000 calendar in 2009, no player has won more titles in Shanghai than Djokovic.
| Rank | Name | Titles | Years won |
| 1 | Novak Djokovic | 4 | 2012, 2013, 2015, 2018 |
| 2 | Andy Murray | 3 | 2010, 2011, 2016 |
| 3 | Roger Federer | 2 | 2014, 2017 |
| T-4 | Jannik Sinner | 1 | 2024 |
| T-4 | Hubert Hurkacz | 1 | 2023 |
| T-4 | Daniil Medvedev | 1 | 2019 |
| T-4 | Nikolay Davydenko | 1 | 2009 |
Coming close to adding a fifth title to his resume in 2024, Djokovic lost to Sinner in the final.
It remains to be seen if he can go one better in 2025, but it will certainly be worth tuning in for.
The 2025 Shanghai Masters are scheduled to begin on Wednesday, October 1.
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