Novak Djokovic now has the best winning percentage for ATP Masters 1000 events as he has surpassed Rafael Nadal following his third-round win at the Shanghai Masters.
The 24-time Grand Slam winner – already the record-holder for most ATP Masters 1000 titles with 40 – brushed Flavio Cobolli aside 6-1, 6-2 to book his place in the last 16 of the hard-court tournament.
The win was Djokovic’s 406th in Masters 1000 events and he edged past Nadal in terms of highest winning percentage as he now sits on 82.02% with Nadal on 82.00%.
Djokovic is also within striking distance of another Nadal record at Masters tournaments as the Spaniard holds the all-time record for most main draw wins with 410 while he has 90 defeats.
The Serbian has a 406-89 win-loss record while the retired Roger Federer is a distant third.
The 10 Players With Most Masters 1000 Match Wins:
1. Rafael Nadal – 410
2. Novak Djokovic – 406
3. Roger Federer – 381
4. Andy Murray – 230
5. Andre Agassi – 209
6. Tomas Berdych – 191
7. Pete Sampras – 190
8. David Ferrer – 189
9. Stan Wawrinka – 165
10. Andy Roddick – 157
Djokovic will look to move to 407 wins when he takes on Roman Safiullin in the fourth round after the Russian upset 17th seed Frances Tiafoe 5-7, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5).
The Cobolli clash was only Djokovic’s second match on the ATP Tour since he was stunned in the third round of the US Open by Alexei Popyrin.
“From the beginning I had a clear game plan of what I needed to do, staying aggressive and trying to use every short ball to take the initiative in the point,” the former world No 1 said. “Cobolli was evidently exhausted after last night’s match [against Stan Wawrinka]. I think that has taken a toll, physically, on him today.
“I haven’t played too many matches, I think the positive in that is that I’m fresh, so I am happy to play every day [or] as long as it takes.”
The Serbian took his record for the 2024 season to 34-8 while he has also closed the gap to seventh-placed Andrey Rublev in the Race For Turin with only the top eight qualifying.
Djokovic is currently eighth in the standings for the ATP Finals, but he is now only 220 points behind Rublev – who lost in the second round in Shanghai – with the sixth-placed Casper Ruud another 225 ahead.
