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Four-time former winner and Olympic gold medallist Novak Djokovic will have his work cut out as he returns to Shanghai for the first time in five years.
The 37-year-old, who has won every single major tournament in tennis, will be the main attraction in the 96-player field, but he faces a tough path to the latter stages of the tournament.
Djokovic, a 24-time Grand Slam champion, has played just 40 matches this year and his last match on court saw him bow out of the US Open with a shock third-round exit to Alexei Popyrin.
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Highlights as Djokovic is shocked by Alexei Popyrin at the US Open
Djokovic will be aiming to win his 100th career title but faces a difficult test with the likes of world No 1 Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev all in the draw.
He will take on the winner of Alex Michelsen or Yunchaokete Bu in his first match after receiving a bye into round two but he could face Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals and Alexander Zverev in the last four.
Djokovic has never failed to reach the quarter-finals in nine previous Shanghai appearances.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are on another collision course
Top seed Jannik Sinner and four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz have been placed in the opposite side of the draw.
The 12-day long event is held at the Qizhong Tennis Centre and gets underway on Wednesday October 2, running until Sunday October 13.
Hubert Hurkacz beat Andrey Rublev to win the event last year, but the giant Pole will be missing this time around due to a knee injury.
Which British players are competing in Shanghai?
Dan Evans will fly the British flag in the draw along with Billy Harris
Jack Draper was the only British tennis player who was guaranteed a spot in this year’s main draw at Shanghai, but the world No 20 has been forced to withdraw from the tournament due to an abdominal injury sustained at the Japan Open.
Dan Evans came through qualifying to reach the main draw and he faces Brazil’s Thiago Seyboth Wild in the first round, while Billy Harris has entered the main draw as a lucky loser.
What’s happening on Wednesday at the Shanghai Masters?
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Speaking on the Sky Sports tennis podcast, Gael Monfils revealed his interesting ambitions for another career after tennis
US Open 2014 champion Marin Cilic, former world No 4 Kei Nishikori and veteran Frenchman Gael Monfils are among those who’ll take to Qi Zhong Tennis Centre court when main draw action begins.
Evans is scheduled to take on Seyboth Wild with the winner to face Daniil Medvedev.
How to watch the Shanghai Masters?
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Find out all the ways to watch tennis on Sky Sports, including the US Open, ATP and WTA tours
You can watch live coverage of all the action at the Shanghai Masters exclusively on Sky Sports Tennis and Now.
Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.
What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis in October?
- Shanghai Masters – ATP 1000 (October 2-13)
- Wuhan Open – WTA 1000 (October 6-12 – Emma Raducanu in qualifying action)
- Almaty Open, Kazakhstan – ATP 250 (October 14-20)
- Stockholm Open, Sweden – ATP 250 (October 14-20)
- European Open, Antwerp – ATP 250 (October 14-20)
- Japan Open, Osaka – WTA 250 (October 14-20)
- Ningbo Open, China – WTA 500 (October 14-20)
- Erste Bank Open, Vienna – ATP 500 (October 21-27)
- Swiss Indoors, Basel – ATP 500 (October 21-27)
- Guangzhou Open, China – WTA 250 (October 21-27)
- Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis, Tokyo – WTA 500 (October 21-27)
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