(source : ANI) ( Photo Credit : ani)
Novak Djokovic heads into the Shanghai Masters with his usual fire, shrugging off tough losses to rising stars Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. The 24-time Grand Slam winner says he’s not down about dropping big matches to the world’s top two players—he’s just focused on pushing forward in tennis.
Djokovic kicks off his Shanghai Masters run against veteran Marin Cilic. If things go as seeded, he’ll face world No. 2 Sinner in the semifinals. The Italian has the edge in their rivalry, leading 6-4 overall and winning the last five clashes. Against Alcaraz, Djokovic holds a slight 5-4 advantage, but he’s stumbled in key moments, like losing the Wimbledon finals to the Spaniard in both 2023 and 2024. It’s been two years since Djokovic’s last Grand Slam title at the 2023 US Open.
Alcaraz, now the world No. 1 and fresh off his US Open victory, has matched Djokovic’s eight Grand Slam wins since that 2023 triumph in New York. Still, the Serbian star has shone brightly, grabbing Olympic gold in Paris by beating Alcaraz and capping the 2023 ATP Finals with a win over Sinner.
This year, the 38-year-old Djokovic has found it hard to overpower these early-20s phenoms. He fell to Sinner in the semifinals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, and to Alcaraz in the US Open quarterfinals. Ahead of his Cilic matchup, Djokovic opened up about the challenge, as quoted on the ATP website: “I’m still working my hardest that I possibly can… to challenge the guys or to challenge myself primarily and really see how I can do on all the tournaments that I take part in.”
He added that best-of-three-set formats, like at the Shanghai Masters, suit him better for chasing trophies. “Other than those matches that I lost to these best two players in the world, I think I played really good tennis in Grand Slams and reached semifinals in each one of them,” Djokovic said. “So it speaks about the level and the consistency, and so I’m pleased with that. But at the same time, there is a part of me that always is a winner… that wants to be the best.”
Losing those high-stakes battles isn’t fun, he admitted, but it won’t stop him. “It is not ideal… but nevertheless, that is not discouraging me to keep going. I do not play tennis only for the sake of making results and winning trophies; there are several other reasons why I keep going.”
Djokovic notched his 100th tour-level title at the Geneva Open in May, defeating Hubert Hurkacz in the final. Fans will watch closely as he battles for another strong showing in Shanghai.
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