Sabalenka jokes about Djokovic: "If he wins the tournament, I'll say it's thanks to me"

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Adrien Guyot

le 09/10/2025 à 09h36

1 min to read

Djokovic Sabalenka Shanghai

Novak Djokovic is establishing himself as one of the favorites for the title at the Shanghai Masters 1000.

Djokovic is well positioned to secure a 101st career title. The Serbian can indeed benefit from the eliminations of Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, and Taylor Fritz, as well as the absence of Carlos Alcaraz, to claim a 41st Masters 1000 title, which would also be his 5th in Shanghai after 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2018.

This Thursday, the former world number one faces Zizou Bergs for a spot in the semifinals. In any case, Djokovic, 38, can count on the support of his friend Aryna Sabalenka, currently in China to participate in the WTA 1000 in Wuhan.

The world number one, who has been the Serbian's sparring partner numerous times recently, hopes, in her own way, to see the Belgrade native win the title in the Chinese city by the end of the week.

"We've already trained together several times. I hope I was a good sparring partner. So far, I feel like that's the case since he's winning his matches in Shanghai.

We had a good time at the restaurant in recent days, I hope he'll make it to the final. If he wins the tournament, I'll say it's thanks to me. When we played, he was really competitive and shouted during points.

I said 'Vamos' when he won points, but I also won a lot, you know," Sabalenka assured with a touch of humor that often characterizes her in press conferences, for ESPN.