The 2023 Shanghai Masters will sorely miss Novak Djokovic, the most successful player in the tournament’s young history. He has won the ATP 1000 title there four times. He had a realistic chance of extending his record but pulled out of the 12th edition this year.
Before Djokovic, it was Roger Federer who found immense success in Shanghai. He had a great track record in the Chinese city even before the Shanghai Masters was founded. Federer has also found success in the newer ATP Tour event, winning it twice. The Swiss maestro made a place for himself in the hearts of fans in Shanghai with his performances and persona alike.
Federer the trailblazer, Djokovic the ultimate winner
Before the ATP Masters tournament, Shanghai hosted the Tennis Masters Cup for four years, from 2005-2008. The year-end championship was then converted into the ATP Finals and moved out of China. Federer participated in all four editions, reaching the final in 2005 and winning it for the next two years.
The two-time defending champion met with a shock round-robin stage exit in 2008. After the Shanghai Masters was formed in 2009, success evaded the Swiss legend. He had to wait until 2014 to get his hands on the ATP 1000 title in China. Federer then went on to lift the trophy in 2017.
After skipping the 2009 Shanghai Masters, Federer featured in every edition until it was last held in 2019. For his title triumphs in 2014 and 2017, he raked in nearly $2 million combined ($798,540 and $1,136,850, respectively). With a couple of semi-finals and one runner-up finish, the former World No.1 has collected $3,001,290 in total prize money from the Shanghai Masters. From 2004 to 2008, Federer took home a whopping $3,740,000 for his efforts in the Tennis Masters Cup held in Shanghai for those four years.
Coming to Novak Djokovic, he impressively rebounded to win the 2008 Tennis Masters Cup in Shanghai after being eliminated in the round-robin stage in 2007. He pocketed $1.24 million by winning his first-ever year-end championship after securing $100,000 in 2007. The Serb won the Shanghai Masters in 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2018, bagging a prize purse of $3,673,335 for his wins. He has the ATP to thank for the gradual increase in the handouts with each passing year. Apart from his wins, he has four semi-final finishes and one quarter-final, amounting to a combined $942,135.
Hence, Djokovic’s on-court earnings in Shanghai come out to $5,955,470. The amount is outstanding but is overshadowed by Federer’s career earnings. The Swiss legend made $6,741,290 playing in Shanghai. His Big 3 counterpart, though, still has some years left on the tour. Djokovic can eclipse Federer’s earnings in the Chinese city if he plays a couple of times more and gets good results.
Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic – Who is richer?
Novak Djokovic holds the record of being the player with the highest on-court prize money earnings, bagging a whopping $175,281,484 combined for singles and doubles, as per the ATP website. Federer, meanwhile, retired with total earnings of $130,594,339 from the court. The 20-time Grand Slam winner, however, dwarves Djokovic in terms of overall earnings.
The Serb made $38.4 million in 2023, combining on and off-court earnings, whereas his retired rival made an astonishing $95.1 million. Federer’s huge portfolio of investments and endorsements have boosted his net worth to an estimated $550 million, making him one of the richest athletes across sports. Djokovic’s net worth is a comparatively modest $240 million.
Federer’s brand value and appeal, combined with his success in China, led Mercedes Benz to sign an agreement with him specifically catering to the Chinese market. He also starred in an advertisement for Switzerland Tourism targeting Chinese tourists. Djokovic, on the other hand, currently does not have any endorsements specific to the Asian country. However, he is one of the most-followed people on Weibo, China’s social media platform.
