Djokovic says he has better chances against Alcaraz, Sinner outside majors

Serbian tennis legend Novak Djokovic has said that he has better chances against Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner at the Masters 1000 tournaments.

Djokovic has started his Shanghai Masters bid with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 victory over Marin Cilic, where he is a four-time winner at the tournament.

Speaking at the Shanghai Open, Djokovic said that the Masters events are played over almost two weeks, and that is where I have a chance.

“The Masters events are played over almost two weeks," the 38-year-old said.

"That’s where I feel I have a better chance, you know, to win a trophy or to make a significant result.

“Yeah, that’s what I said after the US Open, because I really felt that playing best-of-five against these guys at the latter stages of the tournament makes it really challenging for me.”

The 24-time Grand Slam winner reached the semi-finals of all four majors in 2024, losing twice to Sinner, once to Alcaraz and once to Alexander Zverev.

He added that he feels like he does not come in as fresh in the semis as compared to Alcaraz and Sinner, and that is the area where he has been working to challenge the guys.

“I feel like I don’t come in as fresh as they do in the semis,” he added.

“That’s okay. I mean, that’s just a biological fact that eventually I have to accept.

“I’m still working my hardest that I possibly can in the circumstances to challenge the guys or to challenge myself primarily, and really see how I can do on all the tournaments that I take part in."