Shanghai Masters organizers forced to take drastic measures as Novak Djokovic benefits | Tennis | sport

Shanghai Masters organizers were forced to wrangle after rain disrupted the schedule.

Over the weekend, games on outdoor courts were canceled, leaving several players to play catch-up. This means top players like Novak Djokovic will benefit and get extra days off after playing under the roof of the main stadium.

And with further weather problems on Monday, bosses took drastic measures to make them competitive.

While they are still hoping for some games to take place outdoors, players have begun moving to indoor courts normally used for practice.

Roman Safullin's match against Alexander Bublik was moved to Hall A1, while Jordan Thompson took on Tallon Griekspoor in Hall A3. At least two more games will be played indoors, away from television cameras and crowds of fans.

It follows a weekend of away games, with most outside games canceled as players waited to see if they could get on the pitch.

The bottom half of the draw, which includes No. 4 seed Djokovic, was scheduled to take place on Saturday.

While Djokovic made it through his match, his next opponent will have a difficult time. The Serb will play against the winner of a second-round duel between Stan Wawrinka and Flavio Cobolli.

After they were originally scheduled to play two days ago, they will now only start their game on Monday evening as the last game on the stadium pitch. Whoever wins will likely have to return less than 24 hours later with the difficult task of facing Djokovic, who will have an extra day of rest.

The Olympic champion is back in Shanghai for the first time since 2019. In his first game he survived a test against Alex Michelsen and prevailed 7-6(3), 7-6(9).

Should he face Wawrinka, it would be their 28th meeting. Djokovic has a 21-6 record against the three-time Grand Slam champion. But if Cobolli comes through, it will be another first meeting for the world No. 4.

Djokovic had also never played against Michelsen before and later said: “I think the older I get, the more new players I will bring in because they keep coming up, which is a normal part of the evolution of the sport.”