World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and Flavio Cobolli shared a friendly exchange following their third-round clash in the Shanghai Masters. Djokovic put up a masterclasss to outfox the Italian in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2.

The Serb is currently making his 10th appearance at the Shanghai Masters and is through to the fourth round. He is one of the favorites to win the title and looks determined to make a difference in the Masters 1000 event this year.

The 37-year-old received a gracious message from Cobolli on social media following their third-round match on Tuesday. The Italian labelled him as his all-time GOAT and appreciated his character on court.

“Thank You Nole! Always my idol !! Always with a smile on your face,” Flavio Cobolli commented.

Djokovic was quick to respond to the message and felt honoured to share the court with Cobolli in Shanghai.

“Thank You my friend. It’s a pleasure to share the field with you,” Novak Djokovic replied.

Here is the interaction between them on Instagram.

Djokovic and Cobolli faced each other for the first time on the main tour. The fourth seed won 80% of his first serve points and fired 19 winners to get past the Italian in the third round. Reflecting on his performance in the post-match interview, he said:

“From the beginning I had a clear game plan of what I needed to do, staying aggressive and trying to use every short ball to take the initiative in the point.”

Djokovic felt energized on court after taking sufficient time to rest following his early exit from the US Open last month.

“I haven’t played too many matches, I think the positive in that is that I’m fresh, so I am happy to play every day [for] as long as it takes,” he added.

Novak Djokovic will take on Roman Safiullin in R4

Novak Djokovic has an impeccable record at the Shanghai Masters with four titles to his name in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2018.

The Serb has only lost once before the quarterfinals and will face Roman Safiullin in the fourth round on Thursday. He leads the head-to-head against the Russian 2-0 and defeated him most recently at the Monte-Carlo Masters this year.

While Djokovic cruised past Cobolli in the third round, Safiullin chalked up a hard-fought win against Frances Tiafoe. He outlasted the American in a grueling three-set match, 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(5).

The winner between Djokovic and Safiullin will take on either Grigor Dimitrov or Jakub Mensik in the quarterfinals.