Serbian legend Novak Djokovic played his first match in Shanghai since 2019 and had no easy life against young American ace Alex Michelsen. The latter had nothing to lose and put pressure on the former world number 1, who prevailed thanks to two tiebreaks risking a lot in both sets.

Novak Djokovic, Shanghai Masters 2024© Stream screenshot

The 24-time Grand Slam champion was behind by a break in the first set, but he raised his level at the decisive moment taking the lead and inflicting a hard blow on his young opponent. Serbian legend tore the American’s back in the second set and had two chances for a double break on 4-1, but Alex was also lucky before catching Nole on 4-4.

Michelsen managed to drag the second set into the tiebreak, where he gave up for 11-9 after having even two set points. The World number 4 raised his arms to the sky at the end of the match and complimented his opponent, who proved to have the right weapons to become a great player.

Nole starts well

Novak didn’t seem to be at the top of his game and he will have to play better if he wants to get to the bottom of a tournament in which he has won four times, the last one in 2018 (defeating Borna Coric in the final).

Djokovic’s season has been far below expectations so far, considering that the Serbian ace did not win an ATP title or a Major for the first time since 2017. The 37-year-old from Belgrade won the Olympic title in Paris during the summer.

Novak Djokovic© Novak Djokovic/Instagram – Fair Use

Meanwhile – defeating Michelsen in Shanghai – Nole scored his 405th Masters 1000 win, 5 wins behind his great rival Rafael Nadal. Djokovic is expected to win the Chinese tournament for the fifth time in order to overtake the Spanish legend and write a new page of tennis history.

“It was the first match against Alex and I also hadn’t played in a while, so it took me a little time to get the rust off,” said Djokovic after his first match in Shanghai. “He started off terrifically; big serves and an aggressive style of tennis… he’s not afraid to step it up and take it to his opponent.

It was a very close encounter and I thought a high level of tennis in both sets. I’m just glad to keep calm when it mattered in the second-set tie-break. I was 4-1 up, 15/40 and he hit the let-cord that went over. It could easily have been 6-1 for me in the second. But at this level, things can change very quickly. I’m glad to really be challenged by a young player and I’m looking forward to the next one” – he added.

An undefined schedule

The former world number 1 is still in the running to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, where he triumphed last year by defeating local idol Sinner in the final. The 24-time Grand Slam champion will play the ‘Six Kings Slam‘ in Saudi Arabia in mid-October, while it is not clear whether he will participate in the Paris-Bercy Masters 1000. Novak appears in the entry list of the last Masters 1000 of the season, but his presence is not certain.

Novak has greatly reduced his schedule in recent years to keep motivation high and get fit for the events that really interest him. The 24-time Grand Slam champion struggled to play well in the Masters 1000 this year, as shown by the bad losses against Luca Nardi at Indian Wells and Alejandro Tabilo in Rome.

Alex Michelsen & Novak Djokovic, Shanghai Masters 2024 © Stream screenshot

In a recent interview with ‘BetBoom’, Russian ace Daniil Medvedev spoke about Nole’s legacy: “I always said that training with Novak meant a lot to me. I can’t say that it was because of these trainings that I could get into the top 100 or something like that. But it was a fun experience. I always try to make people understand that, because in the media Novak is sometimes presented as not only bad but somehow worse than someone else.

But whatever my position, he always had the same attitude towards me. He’s very nice, friendly, a good person and an amazing player. It was really cool. In a sense, it can even be used as an example, because I was able to get into the top ten and start playing well. I always try to remember that for Novak, it doesn’t matter who you were or what you represented. He just stayed the same.”

Djokovic played the Davis Cup tie against Greece in Belgrade in September, helping his Serbia to prevail thanks also to the absence of Stefanos Tsitsipas.