The 24-time Grand Slam winner has not featured on the ATP Tour since he brushed Daniil Medvedev aside in the US Open final as he opted to skip the Asian swing – including the Shanghai Masters.
But he will be back on Tour at Paris-Bercy and he will play in both the singles and doubles tournament, teaming up with fellow Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic in the doubles competition.
Although he is not a regular doubles player, Djokovic also competed in the doubles events at the Adelaide International at the beginning of the year – losing in the first round alongside Vasek Pospisil – and the Cincinnati Masters where he also suffered an opening-round loss with Nikola Cacic.
He also played teamed up with Cacic for Serbia in the Davis Cup Finals playoffs.
Interestingly, Djokovic went on to win the singles titles in both Adelaide and Cincinnati so the rest of the field be warned.
In case you were wondering, Djokovic has one doubles title to his name as he won the Queen’s Club Championship along with Jonathan Erlich from Israel in 2010. And no, he didn’t win the singles title that year as he lost in the third round.
The world No 1 won’t be the only top singles player competing in the doubles tournament in Paris, though, as there will be some high-profile partnerships.
Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev will once again team up and they have already had success on the doubles tour this year as they won the Madrid Open while they finished runner-up at the Paris Masters in 2019.
Rising star Jannik Sinner will partner with veteran Stan Wawrinka, Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime will team up with Sebastian Korda while young guns Ben Shelton and Jiri Lehecka also feature as a partnership for the first time.
As for the singles draw, Djokovic will headline the field while there are question marks over No 2 Carlos Alcaraz.
Alcaraz has been forced to withdraw from the Swiss Indoors in Basel as he is struggling with both a foot injury and muscle fatigue in his lower back.
But the rest of the top 10 is expected to feature with Medvedev, Sinner, Rublev, Holger Rune, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud, Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz all set to line up.
Rune is the defending champion after beating Djokovic in last year’s final.
The Paris Masters will start on October 30 with the finals taking place on November 5.
