Shanghai Masters 2019: Who can stop Novak Djokovic from winning his 5th title in Shanghai?

In what was a dream debut for Novak Djokovic at the recently concluded Japan Open, the World No. 1 didn't drop a single set all week and recorded his 76th career title with a resounding triumph over John Millman.

After falling in the semifinals at the Cincinnati Masters earlier this year, a shoulder injury forced Djokovic to retire mid-match in the 4th round against Stan Wawrinka at the US Open. The Serb seemed to be going through a frustrating time on the court since his epic win at Wimbledon.

But now, with a win under his belt at Tokyo, Djokovic returns to his happy hunting ground at Shanghai. He is not only the defending champion here, but also a four-time former champion in the penultimate Masters 1000 tournament of the year.

Djokovic has won the Australian Open and Wimbledon along with the Madrid Masters this year, but the 16-time Grand Slam champion has been struggling for consistency of late. He has been unable to sustain his momentum from one tournament to another.

Having said that, Djokovic still starts as a heavy favorite to defend his Shanghai Masters crown this year. The absence of Rafael Nadal owing to a wrist injury seems to have made Djokovic’s path to the title even easier.

In such a scenario, who can stop Djokovic from recording his 34th Masters 1000 title at Shanghai this year? There are a couple of candidates.

2019 Rolex Shanghai Masters - Roger Federer

No. 2 seed Roger Federer occupies the bottom half of the draw and can only meet Djokovic in the final. While the Swiss maestro was brilliant in his final assignment at the Laver Cup, winning both of his singles matches for Team Europe, he succumbed to early exits at both the Cincinnati Masters and the US Open and has looked vulnerable for quite a while now.

The way he failed to close out the Wimbledon final this year against Djokovic, coupled with his losses against Grigor Dimtrov and Stefanos Tsitsipas at the US Open and Australian Open respectively, might be an indication that he is nearing retirement.

Before Djokovic can get to Federer though, he has a few other obstacles that could possibly derail his campaign. His second round opponent Denis Shapovalov and potential Round of 16 challenger John Isner can be dangerous on their day, but we can expect the Serb to have enough answers to the questions they pose.

The defending champion might face his first big test against Tsitsipas in the quarterfinal and an even sterner test in the semifinal against 2019 US Open runner-up Daniil Medvedev.

Daniil Medvedev

Djokovic lost to Medvedev in their most recent encounter at the Cincinnati Masters, where the latter rallied from a set down in the semifinal. Before that Medvedev had also beaten the Serb in the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters.

Djokovic defeated Medvedev at the Australian Open, but the Russian was one of only two players to take a set off the World No. 1 in that tournament. The 23-year-old has shown tremendous improvement with each passing tournament. With his recent heroics in the hard-court season where he reached five consecutive finals (winning two of those finals, Medvedev might be the Serb’s biggest threat at the Shanghai Masters.

If not Federer, Djokovic might face Dominic Thiem in the final; the Austrian finds himself in the same half of the draw as the Swiss. With his win in Beijing, the resurgent Thiem would be high on confidence as he looks to build consistency on non-clay surfaces too.

While the 26-year-old has recorded three wins against Djokovic so far, he is yet to beat the Serb outside clay. Thiem would have to produce his absolute best if he fancies besting Djokovic in a title match on hardcourt.

With 33 Masters 1000 titles against his name already, Djokovic would look to capture his 34th in a bid to once again get close to Nadal’s record of 35 Masters 1000 titles.

Will Djokovic be able to defend his title in Shanghai Masters and in the process record his fifth title there, or can someone stop the Serb and script their own success story? It will be interesting to see how the drama unfolds in the penultimate Masters 1000 event of 2019.