Novak Djokovic has received a wild-card entry for the Swiss Indoors Basel, where he will bid for his 103rd career title. The ATP 500 tournament will be held at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland, from October 26.
The 39-year-old Serbian will make his first appearance at the hard-court tournament since 2011 and his fourth overall. Djokovic won the title in 2009, defeating home favourite Roger Federer 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in the final. He holds a 12-2 win-loss record at the tournament. Djokovic heads to Basel after winning the China Open earlier this month. However, his campaign at the Shanghai Masters ended in the opening round, where he lost to Hubert Hurkacz.
A title triumph in Basel would take Djokovic to 103 career titles, leaving him level with Federer in the tally. American Jimmy Connors leads the all-time list in the Open era with 109 titles. The wild-card entry comes after the Six Kings Slam, an exhibition tournament in Saudi Arabia, was postponed until late December following recent attacks on the kingdom. A missile strike on Riyadh’s international airport in Saudi Arabia last Saturday killed 12 people and left more than 300 injured. It was the deadliest attack on a Gulf Arab country since the Iran war began.
Djokovic's participation in Basel offers him another opportunity to compete before the season-ending ATP Finals. The Serbian is also chasing qualification for the Nitto ATP Finals for the 17th time in his career. The record seven-time champion is currently 11th in the ATP Live Race To Turin, with only the top eight players qualifying for the season-ending tournament.
Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz have secured their places in Turin, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who had also qualified, has ended his season early due to a knee injury. His withdrawal leaves six places available in the field.
