Novak Djokovics level is rising more and more as the rounds go by. The former world number 1 - who had struggled a lot in his Shanghai'sdebut against Alex Michelsen winning two tiebreaks - defeated Flavio Cobolli and Roman Safiullin without any problems in the last two rounds.
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The 24-time Grand Slam champion feels very good physically because he hasnt played much this year and has expressed a desire to remain competitive for a long time. The Serbian legend has not won an ATP title this year and his season would be considered insufficient if he had not won the gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
Winning the gold medal for his country was one of the greatest dreams of the 37-year-old from Belgrade, who wrote another page in tennis history. We expected more from Novak in the Grand Slam tournaments, considering he won three Majors last year. Despite having a knee operation at the French Open, Nole reached the final of the Wimbledon Championships but was defeated by Carlos Alcaraz for the second year in a row. After that severe lesson at Church Road, hardly anyone expected the Serbian ace to win the gold medal at the Paris Olympics without losing a set.
Djokovic praisesMensik
Djokovic qualified for the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters 1000 for the tenth time in as many appearances at this tournament, where he raised the trophy four times. The 24-time Grand Slam champion will face Jakub Mensik - who defeated two great players such as Andrey Rublev and Grigor Dimitrov in his run - for a spot in the semifinals on Friday.
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The former world number 1 knows he wont underestimate a very young and talented player: "He is a very promising young player; I've been following his progress for a while now and have had training weeks with him in Belgrade. I try to be available to offer advice to young players like him, and his parents are lovely people. I always thought he had the potential to be one of the best in the world.
He also added: "He is very tall, but moves exceptionally well. He has a good serve, is consistent from the baseline, and I believe he will come out without anything to lose. I expect a tough challenge because he puts a lot of pressure with all his shots, and this court suits his style of play. I enjoy watching his matches because he's versatile on the court, aggressive yet also a good defender. He has made great physical progress in recent years.
Novak is finding his best tennis in this tournament, after being eliminated in the first week of the US Open. The Serbian has avoided Sinner and Alcaraz until the final and will not face German ace Alexander Zverev, as the German champion was eliminated by Belgian ace David Goffin.
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Nole is in excellent shape
The 37-year-old from Belgrade has a good relationship with Chinese fans and has promised that he will try to play this tournament again next year, despite his schedule being significantly reduced in the latter part of his career. Well, I always want to do very well in China, and I think my past results are a testament to how I feel in China, Djokovic stated in his press conference. I always had tremendous success, both Beijing and Shanghai. It is definitely due to incredible love and respect and support Im getting from the Chinese people.
So, my connection is very profound, and five years has been a very long period of not coming to China, so I will do my best to come back next year. I dont know what next year brings in terms of my schedule and so forth. I know that I still want to keep playing. I have to see where I am in my life with my body and everything, but I still have plans to go ahead, you know, as previous years, prioritising the biggest events. But then I still would like to make my annual trip to China, at least for one tournament, because of the incredible energy and love I feel here. Im feeling good. I think the advantage of not playing many tournaments is that youre fresh, Nole added.
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Many fans and insiders are wondering which tournaments will play the Serbian legend after the Masters 1000 in Shanghai. The former world number 1 will be present at the 'Six Kings Slam' in Saudi Arabia, while its presence in Paris-Bercy is uncertain. Despite playing very little in 2024, Djokovic still has a good chance of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.
