Djokovic takes Basel wildcard in Turin push and Federer title chase

A return to Basel, 17 years after his title

Novak Djokovic has added an unexpected stop to his autumn. On Friday the 39-year-old accepted a wildcard for the Swiss Indoors in Basel, the ATP 500 indoor event that runs from 26 October to 1 November. It will be his first appearance at the tournament since 2011. The ATP Tour announced the news on X with the words "17 years on ...", a nod to 2009, when Djokovic beat Roger Federer in the Basel final in Federer's home town.

The timing follows a change to the calendar. The Six Kings Slam, the Saudi Arabian exhibition many top players had planned for this stretch, has been postponed until late December after deadly strikes on Riyadh's international airport. That has freed up dates for several stars. Carlos Alcaraz has already taken a wildcard for Vienna, which is played the same week. Djokovic chose Switzerland.

Chasing Turin and Federer's 103

Two targets explain the decision. The first is the ATP Finals. According to Reuters, Djokovic is 11th in the Live Race to Turin and needs to finish inside the top nine to qualify for a 17th time. Ninth is enough this year because world No. 1 Jannik Sinner is out for the rest of 2026 with a persistent knee injury. Basel's 500 points give him a big chance to close the gap before the Paris Masters.

The second is history. Djokovic has 102 career titles, so a Basel win would draw him level with Federer on 103. Only Jimmy Connors, with 109, has more in the Open Era. Basel is a fitting place to try: Federer won his home event ten times, and his 103rd and final title came there in 2019.

Mixed Asian swing

Form is less certain than motivation. Earlier this month Djokovic won a record seventh China Open title in Beijing. A week later he lost in the second round of the Shanghai Masters to Hubert Hurkacz, at an event he has won four times. That defeat cost him ground in the Race, and Reuters links it directly to his late entry in Basel.

Moustached Alcaraz cruises past Cerundolo in Shanghai opener

He will not find an easy field. Players entered in Basel include Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton and Félix Auger-Aliassime. The Canadian's participation is in doubt after he retired with a knee problem in Shanghai and withdrew from Brussels. Several of the players around Djokovic in the Race will also use the indoor events in Basel, Vienna and Paris for their final push.

Before Basel, the Race picture will shift again this weekend. Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev play their Shanghai semi-finals on Saturday against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and 20-year-old Rafael Jódar, and every point there matters to the players chasing the last places in Turin. Djokovic's own push starts in the week of 26 October.