Novak Djokovic needed three sets to win in his latest match at the 2024 Shanghai Masters, but that was the least of his worries.
The 37-year-old Serbian came to Shanghai without having played a lot in recent months. His last tournament was the 2024 US Open, where he surprisingly lost already in the third round to Alexei Popyrin.
He then competed at the Davis Cup, representing his country, but his only opponent was the World No. 770, Ioannis Xilas, who Djokovic easily bested 6-0, 6-1. Since then, he hasn’t appeared on the tennis courts until the Shanghai Masters.
His first match at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai was anything but smooth sailing as he needed a first-set comeback and two tie-breaks to beat Alex Michelsen.
However, in his following two matches, the 24-time major winner was utterly dominant, winning 6-1, 6-2 against Flavio Cobolli and 6-3, 6-2 against Roman Safiullin.
But Jakub Mensik proved to be a challenge for him, as the Czech player won the first set in the tie-break and pushed his opponent throughout the match. Still, Djokovic’s experience prevailed as he won the match 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-4 to reach his ninth semi-final at the Shanghai Masters.
Following his win, the Olympic gold medalist was asked to assess his level at the tournament so far. He admitted that Michelsen challenged him, but he was happy with his level at the event.
“I mean, it’s quite relative what the ideal is. I think you can always do better, but I think I played really well this tournament. I was challenged by Michelsen in the first round, and today tough matches with the big servers. Quick conditions, if you serve well it’s quite a big advantage.”
Although Djokovic values being at a good enough level to challenge for the trophies, being healthy is even more important at this stage of his tennis career.
That was challenged in his latest match against Mensik, when late in the third set, the former World No. 1 started clutching his left knee, the opposite one to which he had surgery on, seemingly struggling with some kind of an issue.
Naturally, right after the match, the fourth seed in Shanghai was asked about the issue but delighted with his response, saying it seemed to be only a momentary issue and he seemed to be healthy.
“I mean, it’s a strange feeling, to be honest, those couple of points in that game, but after that it was fine. So, hopefully when it cools down I’m not going to have any troubles with it, because I already have troubles with the right knee, so it wouldn’t be great. Yeah, let’s see what tomorrow brings.”
Following the injury scare, but also having to play five matches at one event for the first time since the Paris Olympics, the 37-year-old hopes to stay healthy for the remainder of the tournament.
“Hopefully I can be fresh, and now we are entering the last, you know, four players of the last couple of matches of the tournament, and, yeah, I mean, now is the time for me to really try to step it up even more, and hopefully I can get a chance to be in the finals.”
