Novak Djokovic speaks out against ATP Tour change he opposed from the start

Speaking before the Shanghai Masters, Djokovic stated: “Well, I was personally against the extension of the Masters 1000 events, the increase in the number of days they last.”

In recent years, seven of the nine ATP Masters 1000 events have been expanded to 12-day tournaments.

“From the very beginning, I was against it. Even when I was president of the council, I didn’t support it. I think for the players, it’s not good.

“From one perspective, you could say that for me, at my age now, having more days between tournaments is good.

“But at the same time, look, it’s an individual sport, and there are choices to be made. In the end, you can still make choices. Some players say there are rules imposed, but those rules are for bonuses.

“You can choose to skip them, but then you miss out on the bonus. That’s the decision you make if you want to play less. And some players also sign up for exhibitions, so it’s a little contradictory.

“I’ve been talking about this topic for many years. This isn’t the first time. People who know my press conferences or my time on the council know that more than 15 years ago, I was talking about the need to come together and reorganise the schedule and the calendar, even before the 30-year deal plan came about with the Masters events.

“It’s a long and complex topic. I don’t really know where to start or finish, to be honest. There are so many elements to consider.

“The monopoly that has existed in this sport has been very strong for the last three or four decades, and there are people who simply don’t want to change things for the better when it comes to players’ welfare.

“Everyone tends to act in their own interest. That’s logical, from a business point of view. But as someone who has played at the highest level for more than 20 years, I can say that players are not united enough.

“They’re not participating enough when they should be. They make comments, they complain, and then they go away. Later, when something’s wrong again, they come back.

“You have to invest time and energy yourself, not your agent, not your team, not your parents, to understand how the system works and how things can be improved for players.

“For that to happen, especially the top players need to sit down, roll up their sleeves, and care more about getting involved.

“Because just going to the media and talking about it might attract some attention, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t change anything. I know this from personal experience, trust me. It’s a very complex topic.”

Who Novak Djokovic faces in the first-round of the Shanghai Masters

Djokovic is set to open his Shanghai Masters campaign against Marin Cilic, a familiar opponent with a heavily one-sided head-to-head history. The Serb leads their tour-level meetings 19-2.

Cilic’s first win came at the 2016 Paris Masters, and he followed that up with another victory in the 2018 Queen’s Club final. But since then, it has been all Djokovic.

Their last match was the 2022 Tel Aviv final, where the Serb claimed a straight-sets victory to continue his dominance in the matchup.