Novak Djokovic made a triumphant return to the Shanghai Masters, but the former world No. 1 was frustrated by a time violation he received during the match.
Djokovic’s emotions have otherwise been the opposite since making his first appearance in China in five years to play at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai, where he was given a significant welcome from the fans.
The supporters in China feared that Djokovic might never return to the country to play a tournament after he had skipped it last year. The Shanghai Masters was not played from 2020 until 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
That meant Djokovic had not competed in China since 2019. The Serbian has said he is focusing more on Grand Slams and representing Serbia, previously indicating he may be done with other tournaments, which added to concerns the Serbian would not return to China.
However, the 24-time Grand Slam champion returned to Shanghai in his opening match against Alex Michelsen. Djokovic sealed his first victory at the tournament in five years in straight sets.
The match was also notable for the announcer calling Djokovic the greatest of all time as he walked out onto the court, something that had never happened during his career.
Djokovic is also known for sometimes getting into confrontations with umpires. He was unhappy with Mohamed Lahyani after being given a time violation and questioned why the umpire did it.