The Shanghai Masters begins on Wednesday. It is the penultimate Masters 1000 event of the year, and unsurprisingly the player list is exceptionally strong. Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz and 2021 US Open winner Daniil Medvedev are just two of the men in action. However, there have been some notable withdrawals from the tournament. This article names four players who have elected to withdraw from the event, and then who will replace them in the draw.
Four Players Withdraw From Shanghai Masters
Which Players Have Withdrawn?
24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic is the biggest name to withdraw from the Shanghai Masters. The 36-year-old does not have any injury concerns. He has simply decided to rest for the end of the season, and focus on trying to win a record seventh ATP World Tour Finals title. The recent US Open winner Djokovic has skipped many Masters events throughout the season, and put a clear focus on winning Grand Slams. He has now done the same for the World Tour Finals.
Denis Shapovalov is another player to withdraw from the Shanghai Masters. The Canadian has not played since his loss at Wimbledon to Roman Safiullin at Wimbledon back in July. This is due to a knee injury he sustained at SW19. Shapovalov had originally hoped to return in August for the North American hard-court swing. But his injury has proved to be more serious than first expected.
Wu Yibing has also withdrawn from the Shanghai Masters. The home favourite has taken the decision to miss his home Masters 1000 event. It is not currently known why Wu is unable to feature in Shanghai. The 23-year-old has not played a match since being thrashed at the US Open by Alex de Minaur. Hopefully he will be back on court soon.
Dominik Koepfer is the fourth player to withdraw from the Shanghai Masters. The German was forced to retire at the US Open last month against Carlos Alcaraz, with an ankle injury in the second set. He has not featured in any tournaments since, with his ankle clearly still causing issues. There is currently no timeline for a return to tennis for the 29-year-old.
Who Replaces Those Four Players in the Draw?
Nuno Borges benefits from Djokovic’s decision to withdraw from the Shanghai Masters. It has been a difficult few months for the Portuguese player. His narrow first-round win in Astana against Mikhail Kukushkin ended a run of eight consecutive defeats. He then fell in the next round to Sebastian Korda. However, Borges did start the season very strongly, leading to him rising up the rankings. The 26-year-old will hope this opportunity can help him regain that form.
Alexandre Muller replaces Shapovalov at the Shanghai Masters. The Frenchman is currently #80 in the world. That is just four places below his career-best, after a season which included a run to the final at the ATP 250 event in Morocco in April. This will be Muller’s second appearance this season at a Masters 1000 event. He reached the second round of the Rome Masters in May.
Taro Daniel is now on the player list for the Shanghai Masters, due to Wu electing to withdraw. Wu was originally set to be replaced by Jason Kubler, but the Australian then also withdrew. Daniel is narrowly inside the Top 100, with a current ranking of #96. The 30-year-old will hope for a strong run in China to solidify himself more comfortably in the Top 100.
Finally, Thanasi Kokkinakis replaces the withdrawn Dominik Koepfer at the Shanghai Masters. The Australian has had a positive season so far. He is currently ranked at #71, which is just two places below his career-high ranking. Kokkinakis is extremely dangerous when near his best, and is capable of causing problems for his opponents in Shanghai.
Main photo credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports
