After a first round fight against the American Alex Michelsen, Novak Djokovic dominated the next two challenges against Flavio Cobolli and Roman Safiullin, conceding only eight games in two matches to his opponents, qualifying for the quarterfinals of the Shanghai Rolex Masters showing his best tennis since winning the gold medal at Paris Olympics.
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The Serbian champion will now challenge Jakub Mensik for a place in the semifinals: a challenge that the 24-time Grand Slam champion spoke about in the press conference on the sidelines of the victory against Safiullin.
"Mensik is a young man who is developing. I have been following him since he played the Australian Open final, I think it was in the juniors three years ago. We trained together in Belgrade a couple of times, and then he came to play the Serbia Open on clay as well. I have followed his development, tried to be available to help him with advice and guidance, also for his parents, who are lovely people. So, I am very happy for him that he is doing so well. I have always believed that he has the potential to become one of the best players in the world and he is building that kind of momentum right now," he said.
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Nole then highlighted that he is playing his best tennis since the Paris Olympics: "These are the best matches I have played since the Olympics, so I am really happy to play at this level, it is very nice to be on the court when you feel good and you play well. I hope to continue like this. It is no secret that I love playing in China, I have said it before, great energy, great atmosphere, a lot of support. I think that affects my game and the way I feel on the court."
Djokovic then expressed his opinion on Chinese tennis star Qinwen Zheng.
"She is so young. She made China proud at the Olympic Games this year. She brought the gold medal, I think the first ever in tennis for China, so it's a big thing. She is a great person and a really good player who continues to improve. I like watching her, I'm a big fan of her as a person and as a player. We have a good relationship off the court and when we can we chat. I heard she wants to take a picture with the gold medals. That would be great," he explained.
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The Serb went on to praise Mensik's game.
"He is tall, has a great serve, has an all-court game, defends and moves very well for someone of his height. Also, his physio here, Sascha, used to work with me at my tennis center, so we have a lot of connections, so to speak. On the court it is obviously a different story, we want to win against each other. It will be the first meeting, it will be interesting for sure, but I have a great relationship with him off the court. I don't think experience can be a decisive factor in the final result of the match, but of course it can help in certain moments. On the other hand, Mensik is a young man who has nothing to lose, so I expect a difficult challenge," said the Serb.
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During the match he dominated against Safiullin, Nole also found time to talk to the chair umpire Ignacio Forcadell, expressing his disappointment with the new rule introduced by the ATP on the shot clock. The ball boys and girls returned to hand out towels to the players, but the shot clock starts automatically without taking into account everything that can happen between one rallies and another. The umpire justified himself by explaining that the rule has been in force for a long time, but it did not convince the Serbian champion.
When Forcadell told him that the countdown starts automatically, Djokovic replied: "I mean, I know it's not up to you, but this change of rules is incredible. For 4 years we had a situation where we had to get the towel ourselves, now the ball boys and girls are doing their best, but they are not trained to do it. You adopted this new rule without even notifying a player. Honestly, it's incredible."
