"Attending Novak Djokovic’s trial for statpadding" - Fans joke about Roger Federer & Carlos Alcaraz's 'courtroom' seating in Shanghai Masters final

Many tennis fans found humor in the seating arrangement of Roger Federer and Carlos Alcaraz at the 2024 Shanghai Masters final between Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner, likening it to a "courtroom" setting. Sinner emerged victorious in the final of the ATP Masters 1000 hard court tournament in Shanghai and claimed his seventh title of the season.

Sinner was the top seed in the tournament, while Djokovic was seeded fourth, and both players began their campaign in the second round after receiving first-round byes. The Serb defeated the likes of Alex Michelsen in the opening round and then overcame Flavio Cobolli and Roman Safiullin in the third and fourth rounds, respectively.

In the quarterfinals, the 24-time Grand Slam champion triumphed over Jakub Mensik and then registered a win over Taylor Fritz in the semifinals to secure his place in the final.

On the other hand, Sinner defeated Taro Daniel, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Ben Shelton, Daniil Medvedev, and Tomas Machac en route to the final.

In the title clash, Jannik Sinner outplayed Novak Djokovic, a four-time Shanghai Masters champion, with a score of 7-6(4), 6-3 in one hour and 37 minutes to secure his third Masters 1000 title of the season and fourth overall.

Roger Federer and Carlos Alcaraz were present at the final of the 2024 Shanghai Masters. However, several tennis fans online noted that their seating arrangement resembled a courtroom.

The fans were amused by the seating arrangement and took to social media to share their thoughts on the same. One fan humorously suggested that Federer and Alcaraz looked like attendees at Novak Djokovic's "trial" for his "stat-padding crimes."

"Attending Djokovic’s trial for statpadding crimes," a fan posted.

Another fan joked that the duo appeared to be at a court hearing for Jannik Sinner with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), alluding to the fact that WADA had called for the ban of the World No. 1 after he tested positive for Clostebol earlier this year.

"Almost thought they were at Sinner’s court hearing with WADA 🤭 ," a fan wrote.

"There deciding on the sinner case," a fan posted.

One fan noted that the seating layout at the Shanghai Masters bore a striking resemblance to that of a "justice court."

"Why do Shanghai’s stands look like a Justice Court 🥲 ," a fan wrote.

Several fans commented that they felt as though they were witnessing Roger Federer and Carlos Alcaraz sitting in a proper courtroom.

"I legit thought they were sitting in a courtroom 🤷‍♀️ #ShanghaiMasters," a fan posted.

"If i didn’t know them i would’ve literally thought they were in court," a fan wrote.

"Giving me Harvey Spector Mike Ross vibes 😂 ," a fan posted.

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Novak Djokovic: “It’s nice to see Roger Federer, wish you were here on the court playing with us”

Novak Djokovic (L) & Roger Federer (R) [Source: Getty]

During the trophy ceremony following his match against Jannik Sinner in the final of the 2024 Shanghai Masters, Novak Djokovic took a moment to address Roger Federer, who was in the stands watching the match.

The Serb expressed his appreciation for Federer's presence at the event, noting that it was a pleasant surprise to see the 20-time Grand Slam champion in attendance. He admitted that it felt unusual not to have Federer on the court playing against him

“It’s nice to see Roger, I’m not used to seeing you in the stands. I wish you were here on the court playing with us, but it’s probably the first time I’m playing in front of you, so I had added pressure today,” Djokovic said.

Roger Federer himself is a two-time Shanghai Masters champion. He claimed his first title in 2014 by defeating Gilles Simon in the final and then secured his second title in 2017 after triumphing over Rafael Nadal in the title clash.