Novak Djokovic is entering the final stretch of his career with one clear goal: winning a record 25th Grand Slam title to surpass Margaret Court and become the all-time leader in major championships. Standing in his way, however, are Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner — the two biggest obstacles between the Serbian and tennis history.
This season, Djokovic came close to that milestone, reaching the semifinals at all four Grand Slams but failing to advance to a final. He lost to Sinner at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon, and fell to Alcaraz at the US Open, where he was convincingly outplayed.
Djokovic is currently competing at the Shanghai Masters, a two-week event where he has already advanced past Marin Cilic in the opening round. The Serbian could only meet Sinner later in the draw, as Alcaraz was forced to withdraw with an ankle injury.
Speaking to the media ahead of his opening match, Djokovic was asked about his chances of defeating Alcaraz and Sinner in a best-of-three format. While he admitted he prefers week-long tournaments, the 38-year-old noted that longer, two-week events give him the best opportunity to beat his biggest rivals and lift another trophy.
“Of course, best-of-three, duration of the tournament of, you know, ideally seven days, but then you have most of the Masters events are played over almost two weeks. That’s where I feel I have a better chance, you know, to win a trophy or to make a significant result,” Djokovic explained.
Djokovic on facing Sinner at the Shanghai Masters
Based on the main draw at the Shanghai Masters, Djokovic could only meet Jannik Sinner in the semifinals. The Serbian admitted he would welcome another shot at the Italian, who defeated him in the 2024 final at the same tournament.
“I would love to have a chance to play Jannik. That means that I’ll reach the semifinals (laughing), which would be great,” said the world No. 5. “We’ll see. Obviously, he’s been winning most of the matches we’ve played against each other lately. We played the final here last year, it was a good match, so hopefully I get my chance again”.