Nick Kyrgios’ Former Coach Convinced About What Novak Djokovic Will Think If He Fails to Win Shanghai Masters

Novak Djokovic will be bidding to win his 41st Masters 1000 title at the Shanghai Masters.

Nick Kyrgios’ Former Coach Convinced About What Novak Djokovic Will Think If He Fails to Win Shanghai Masters

Novak Djokovic (Image via X/Wolfy)

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Novak Djokovic will continue his hunt for his second title of the season at the Shanghai Masters, which will get underway on October 2. The Serb was the runner-up last year, losing the match in straight sets to World No.2 Jannik Sinner.

Djokovic will also be aiming to win his first Big Title since his victory in the 2024 Paris Olympics final over Carlos Alcaraz. At present, the two ATP 500 events- Japan Open and the China Open– are underway. Djokovic has skipped both, as he has been doing the same since 2024.

If Djokovic doesn’t win the Shanghai Masters, he will consider his decision to participate in the penultimate Masters 1000 of the season a failure, according to Simon Rea, the former coach of Nick Kyrgios. He told The Tennis Podcast:

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. 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.

Djokovic has four Shanghai Masters titles to his name, last winning the title in 2018 by beating Borna Coric. The only time he lost a final in the tournament was against Sinner last year. Djokovic has claimed 40 Masters 1000 titles from 60 finals, the last of which he clinched at the 2023 Paris Masters by beating Grigor Dimitrov.

Boris Becker recalls watching Novak Djokovic’s Wimbledon final from prison

After retiring from tennis in 1999, Boris Becker coached Novak Djokovic from 2014 to 2016, helping him win six of his 24 Grand Slam titles. Back in 2022, Djokovic was chasing his 21st Major at Wimbledon and reached the final, scheduling the match against his good friend Nick Kyrgios.

Novak Djokovic, Boris Becker
Novak Djokovic, Boris Becker (Image via X/The Tennis Letter, Sportbible)

Becker watched that match from his prison, from where he was released in 2023 after serving eight months. During his interview with BBC, the six-time Grand Slam champion recalled getting very emotional when his former protege came from a set down to deny the Aussie his first Grand Slam title.

I was supporting Djokovic at the time I saw him on the TV, when he was winning matches and ultimately winning the title against Nick Kyrgios. That was very inspirational for me and, in the end, very emotional for me. My brother Novak is there, and I’m in one of the worst prisons in the world. So it puts life into perspective.

That was also the last time Djokovic won at Wimbledon. In the next two years, Carlos Alcaraz defeated him in the final, while this year, Jannik Sinner knocked him out in the last four. The four-time Grand Slam champion also knocked him out in the French Open semifinals.

The 38-year-old was last seen in action at the US Open, where Alcaraz eliminated him in straight sets in the semifinals. Djokovic’s Australian Open run this year ended due to an injury, which eventually forced him to give the walkover to World No.3 Alexander Zverev.

The former World No.1 from Serbia has only won the ATP 250 tournament in Geneva and will also feature in the first edition of the ATP 250 Hellenic Championship in Athens, scheduled to start in November. The Geneva win made Djokovic the third man, after Roger Federer and Jimmy Connors, to win 100 or more singles titles in the Open Era.

Also read: Boris Becker Shares Why Roger Federer was Novak Djokovic’s ‘Number One Nemesis’ at Wimbledon