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Novak Djokovic, just like last year, made his final Masters 1000 appearance at the Shanghai Masters to chase his record-extending 41st Master 1000 of his career. While his last run ended in the final with a straight-set defeat to Jannik Sinner, this year, Valentin Vacherot got the better of him in the semifinals, knocking him out in straight sets. Djokovic was one of the five seeded players the Monegasque eliminated en route to the title, becoming the first player from Monaco to win a Masters 1000 title. Vacherot, who, prior to Shanghai, had just one tour-level match win to his name, said during The Changeover Podcast that the locker room has started to believe that 38-year-old Djokovic is now beatable. It’s probably the match that I was thinking about the least before. Even during the 20 minutes before, when I was warming up, I was thinking that there’s a part of me that’s better than this guy, my fitness. Vacherot thought Djokovic was dealing with a physical issue that prepared him mentally even before he walked on to the court to face the four-time Shanghai Masters champion. Prior to the semifinals, Djokovic threw up multiple times mid-match on court. All of the other guys, I couldn’t say that, but we know that Novak is close to 40 years old. If this match lasts, it’s probably good for me. I saw in the match before that he had a few problems. Valentin Vacherot added After outclassing the 24-time Grand Slam champion in the last four, Vacherot denied his cousin Arthur Rinderknech his career’s first singles title with a three-set win in the championship match. He was a No. 204-ranked player before the penultimate Masters 1000 of the season, but after the win, he reached a career-best No.40. Following the Shanghai event, the World No.39 suffered a first-round exit at the Swiss Indoors at the hands of Taylor Fritz. He will next be featuring at the Paris Masters, where he will lock horns with 14th seed Jiri Lehecka to kick-start his campaign. He will be making his first appearance in the last Masters 1000 of the season, the qualifying rounds of which are underway, while the main draw will start on October 27. Serena Williams backs Carlos Alcaraz to break Novak Djokovic’s record Carlos Alcaraz is the second-youngest man after Bjorn Borg to win six Grand Slam titles, and if he continues to bag the Majors at this rate and avoids major injury problems, he could one day reach the 20 Grand Slam tally and break Novak Djokovic‘s record. Serena Williams, at the press conference ahead of the 2025 Princess of Asturias Award in Spain, shared whether she thinks the youngster can beat the veteran’s record.
