Novak Djokovic accuses Holger Rune of ‘stealing’ his locker room at the Shanghai Masters

Rune will open his Shanghai Masters campaign with a round-of-64 clash against American tennis player Brandon Nakashima.

Novak Djokovic accuses Holger Rune of ‘stealing’ his locker room at the Shanghai Masters

From (L-R) : Holger Rune (ATP Tour), Screenshot of video shared by Rune('X': @holgerrune2003), Novak Djokovic (USTA).

24-time Grand Slam title champion Novak Djokovic jokingly accused Norwegian tennis player Hoger Rune of ‘stealing’ his locker room at the Shanghai Masters. Rune shared a video on the social media site ‘X’ showing his fans the locker room allotted to him by the tournament. The locker room had a big wallpaper of the 20-year-old along with the list of players who occupied the locker room in the past, which interestingly included just Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

Commenting under Rune’s post, Djokovic wrote, “You stole my locker room!” The 36-year-old Serbian has won the tournament a record number of times. The reigning US Open champion will give this year’s edition a miss. 

YouTube video

“Over the years, some of the best support I receive anywhere in the world is in China. Shanghai has always been one of my favorite tournaments in the season. I will be missing my #NoleFam in China. I hope that I can come back to China in the future and play in front of all of you again,” World No.1 wrote on the social media site ‘X’, confirming his withdrawal from October’s 1000-level event.

FS Video

For the uninitiated, Djokovic recently took part in the Ryder Cup celebrity all-star match. Speaking to SkySports on the sidelines of the competition, the Serb discussed his plans for the rest of the year. He confirmed his participation in the Paris Masters, which begins on October 30. The 36-year-old has set the tournament record six times. In the last edition of the tournament, in 2022, he was defeated by the Norwegian Holger Rune in a close 3-setter.

On the other hand, the young Norwegian has been struggling with his form and was defeated in the round of 16 of the China Open by Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets. The world No. 4 recently said that the ongoing back injury isn’t allowing him to play at the level he wanted and highlighted that resolving the issue is his priority.

The bad news for the Norwegian doesn’t end there, as next week he’ll lose his place in the top 4, as Jannik Sinner will reach his career-high ranking of World No. 4 after his China Open title win.

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Shanghai Masters: Preview, Draw, and defending champion

Shanghai returns to the ATP calendar as it plays host to the 12th edition of the Shanghai ATP Masters 1000 at Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena from October 4–15, 2023.

Daniil Medvedev with the Shanghai Masters trophy
Daniil Medvedev with the Shanghai Masters trophy (Credit: ATP Tour)

This will be the first edition of the tournament since 2019, as the intervening editions were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in China as well as the fallout following the disappearance of Chinese WTA player Peng Shuai. World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev won the last edition of the tournament, defeating Alexander Zverev in the final encounter.

The entry list for the tournaments is packed with stars, featuring almost all of the top 30 players, excluding Djokovic. Rune will open his Shanghai Masters campaign with a round-of-64 clash against American tennis player Brandon Nakashima. The 20-year-old Norwegian arrested his slide of five consecutive defeats at the China Open as he defeated Canadian pro Felix Auger-Aliassime in the first round before losing to Dimitrov.

China Open champion Jannik Sinner will face American pro Marcos Giron in the first-round clash. Defending champion Medvedev will begin his title defense against Chilean tennis player Christian Garin.

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