Novak Djokovic is known for his humorous side. In September 2021, after playing a tightly contested Paris Masters final against Medvedev, both went on Instagram bantering about not training with each other again. With the Shanghai Masters up and running, Holger Rune gets Djokovic’s former locker room and World No. 1 playfully accuses Rune of locker room heist.
Novak Djokovic is taking a break from the far East ATP tours after not participating in the China Open. He will also not compete in the Shanghai Masters for the first time since 2019.
Djokovic and Rune engage in banter
Novak Djokovic has reacted to Holger Rune sharing that he was assigned a Shanghai Masters locker room that was previously only assigned to the Serbian star and Rafael Nadal.
Rune, 20, is making his debut in Shanghai Masters. When he arrived in Shanghai, he took to social media to reveal the privilege he was given by the tournament organizers. “How cool is this locker room?” Rune captioned his post on X. Novak Djokovic replied, “You stole my locker room!??”
Last week, Rune kicked off his Asian swing in Beijing, where he defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime before Grigor Dimitrov handed him a 6-3 7-5 loss in the round-of-16. “Managed to start playing some decent tennis in the first set. Then, yeah, I never really found my level. Probably playing around 20% of what I can. But, yeah, that’s how it is sometimes. I haven’t played many matches in the past also. Trying to get the rhythm back,” Rune said.
“I got to focus more on improving; the results will be better and better. Now it’s like I played very solid in the first match here, but then less solid today. I guess that’s going to be my focus next week,” Rune concluded.
Holger Rune earned the biggest win of his career last year against Novak Djokovic in the final of the Rolex Paris Masters. It was the Danish star’s first ATP Masters 1000 title and his first victory over Djokovic
Why is Novak Djokovic not playing in Shanghai 2023?
Novak Djokovic is taking a break and will not be competing in Shanghai as the ATP Tour returns to China for the first time since 2019.
Novak Djokovic, after his US Open victory and quick travel to Spain to help Serbia qualify for the Davis Cup finals, made his intentions known via social media. “Over the years, some of the best support I receive anywhere in the world is in China.”
“Shanghai has always been one of my favourite 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.”
Novak Djokovic has won in Shanghai four times and owns a 34-5 record at the event. His decision not to play in China this season means he is likely to return to the tour at the Paris Masters, which starts on October 30. Novak Djokovic was the runner-up in Paris last year and the event leads into the Nitto ATP Finals and the Davis Cup Finals.
What’s your take on this interaction between Nole and Rune? Make sure to tell us in the comments.
