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Novak Djokovic made an honest confession about the difficulty of his fourth round win at the 2025 Shanghai Masters as he also sent a message to his fans.

The tennis icon prevailed 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 against world No 41 Jaume Munar in a dramatic and physically demanding last 16 contest in Shanghai that lasted two hours and 41 minutes.

Djokovic received treatment multiple times for what appeared to be a left ankle injury that surfaced when he broke to take a 3-1 lead in the opening set.

The Serbian was sick on the court at 5-5 in the second set and he collapsed to the court in exhaustion after losing the set.

The 38-year-old had his blood pressure checked before the deciding set, but he made a recovery to close out the match in impressively convincing fashion.

Djokovic did not speak to the media after his win, but he was open about his physical struggles in a post on Instagram.

“Tough day at the office. Very challenging physically. Luckily, I have the greatest support in the world. I love Shanghai,” Djokovic wrote.

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The 2025 Shanghai Masters has been played in gruelling heat and humidity, and seven players have been forced to retire mid-match.

Djokovic was also sick on court during his hard-fought three-set third round win over Yannick Hanfmann, after which he labelled the conditions “brutal” and admitted his age only adds to the challenge.

“It’s the same for every player out on the court, but it’s brutal,” the world No 5 said.

“It’s brutal when you have over 80 per cent of humidity day after day, particularly for the guys when they’re playing during the day with heat, with sun, it’s even more brutal. For me, biologically it’s a bit more challenging to deal with it (smiling).”

Djokovic’s former fitness coach Marco Panichi, who is now working with Holger Rune, recently spoke about the Serb’s remarkable longevity.

“It will be difficult to replicate this when others reach his age,” Panichi told Corriere dello Sport.

“He might have more chances in best-of-three set matches. Not training as much as before, both because of age and motivation, makes energy management challenging, but we can always expect anything from Novak.”

Djokovic will face world No 44 Zizou Bergs in the quarter-finals in Shanghai. He is chasing a record-extending fifth title at the Masters 1000 event.

READ NEXT: Which of Novak Djokovic & Serena Williams’ Grand Slam records is more likely to be broken?

The post What Novak Djokovic said after health and injury concerns in Shanghai Masters win appeared first on Tennis365.

Barely a year after hanging up his tennis racket, three-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray is making waves in another sport as the tennis legend has enjoyed an amazing few weeks on the golf course.

Former world No 1 Murray retired from tennis last August with his last-ever professional tournament the 2024 Paris Olympics at Roland Garros, but instead of disappearing from the sporting world, the two-time Wimbledon champion has switched his focus to golf and has fallen in love with the sport.

And he is not just playing for fun as he has impressed many golfing pundits with the speed with which his handicap has dropped from 20 to single figures inside a year.

There have been several highs on the greens as he drained an incredible eagle putt from the Valley of Sin on the par-4 18th hole at St Andrews in late August.

Not long after, he made another 18th hole eagle, this time on the par-5 closer at Wentworth in the BMW PGA Championship and last week he played in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship where he partnered Eddie Pepperell to a top 20 finish in the team competition.

The tennis great chatted to Tennis365.com after his round at Wentworth as he discussed swapping his tennis racket for golf clubs, playing with former Wales and Real Madrid star Gareth Bale and the difference between tennis and golf crowds.

Having turned professional in 2004, Murray enjoyed two full decades in tennis, and he reached the very top as he won three majors, reached No 1 in the ATP Rankings and won two gold medals in the singles at the Olympics.

Now aged 38, Murray is starting over and he admits that although both are individual sports, it’s completely different.

“I like that in golf you have time in between shots to reflect and calm down. In tennis, your heart rate can get extremely high, you play a long point, an important point, and the tension builds and builds,” he told Tennis365.com.

“For me, the hard part about golf is not in-between shots, it’s when you’re standing over the ball, making sure not too many thoughts creep into your head and actually just getting the club moving properly. That’s the hard part.”

Tennis crowds versus golf crowds

Murray featured on the biggest stages in tennis as he played on Wimbledon’s famous Centre Court, Arthur Ashe at the US Open, Court Philippe Chatrier at Roland Garros and Rod Laver Arena at the Australian Open.

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He has also had his fair share of hostile crowds so how do tennis spectators compare to golf crowds?

“Well, the crowd aren’t in danger when I’m playing tennis, for one thing!” he said jokingly. “In tennis, there were times when the crowd became a norm and others when I used it to my advantage.

“It gave me positive energy, an adrenaline rush. In golf I’m more aware that there are people watching because you might do something embarrassing, to be honest. I’m more fearful of golf crowds than tennis ones, but that’s because of what I might do wrong!”

Murray’s short golfing career has already seen him rub shoulders with another sporting legend as he played with Welsh great Bale, but the football star is in a different league.

“I’ve played with him a few times socially. He’s a member at Wentworth and we message each other on a group chat with another couple of guys,” he revealed.

“He’s been playing for a very long time and I think he played a lot when he was playing football as well. He’s a very good golfer. I enjoy playing with him.”

Does Murray miss his first love?

Following his retirement in 2024, Murray made a quick transition from tennis player to tennis coach as he was appointed fellow great Novak Djokovic’s interim coach. They had limited success with Djokovic finishing runner-up at his year’s Miami Open and not long after it was announced that Murray’s stint had come to an end.

“I don’t really miss it. I drove past Wimbledon a few times during the Championships and thought it would be nice to still be playing, but that was it,” he said.

“Not before and not since. It’s the same with coaching. There were bits of it that I liked, but right now I don’t want to be on the road. I just don’t want to do it.”

The post Andy Murray reveals why he is fearful of golf crowds and if he misses tennis in exclusive appeared first on Tennis365.

Jasmine Paolini has revealed Jannik Sinner gave her a key piece of advice after spotting something she could improve on in her game, but she has refused to reveal what the world No 2 told her.

Paolini and Sinner are leading the stunning rise of Italian tennis, with the nation currently the reigning champions of the two biggest team competitions in tennis.

An Italian team propelled by Paolini defended their Billie Jean King Cup title in Shenzen last month, while Sinner will look to fire Italy to a third successive Davis Cup title in front of his home fans in Bologna next month.

Players from the men’s tour rarely get a chance to speak to their female counterparts about the technicalities of their game, yet Paolini told Tennis365 at the Dongfeng · Voyah Wuhan Open that Sinner spotted a flaw in her game that he suggested she could correct.

“At the Davis Cup finals last year, my ex-coach Renzo (Furlan) was speaking with Jannik and I was surprised because he said I wasn’t doing something on the court,” Paolini told Tennis365. “I can’t say what it is because my opponents will know then!

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“My coach came to me and said: ‘Jannik has said you need to do this’. I mean, when Jannik tells you to do something, you just have to do it. How can you say no to Jannik’s advice?”

Paolini went on to pay tribute to Sinner, as she suggested he was setting a good example with his calm demeanour on court.

“He is doing unbelievable things on the court and I think people like how he is behaving on and off the court because he is a really nice guy,” she continued.

“He is a good role model. That is very good for our sport in Italy and it is good for our sport. Tennis is growing in Italy because of him.”

This rise of Italian tennis is one of the biggest talking points in the sport right now, with Paolini and Sinner joined by Lorenzo Musetti, Sara Errani, Flavio Cobolli and Matteo Berrettini part of a long cast list of names making a big splash in the sport.

The rise can be traced back to the Italian Tennis Federation hosting a growing list of lower-ranked events that allowed their players to get competitive matches and collect ranking points, with Paolini proud to be part of the golden era of Italian tennis.

“I think it was really important that the Italian Federation but on so many tournaments and now they are continuing to improve them,” she added.

“You see there are many Italians in the men’s draw. With the women, it is a little different, but that has been the key to us doing so well. The Federation are behind us players and they have done an amazing job.

“The fact that there are so many of us, it allows us to push each other to do better and better.”

We will have lots more from our interview with Jasmine Paolini on Tennis365 in the coming days.

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The post Jasmine Paolini reveals Jannik Sinner advice – and why she felt obliged to follow it appeared first on Tennis365.

Roger Federer and Alexander Zverev have sparked debate by expressing a controversial theory they share — involving Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner — about tennis court speed.

Tennis icon Federer claimed that tournament directors are preparing slower surfaces to favour both Alcaraz and Sinner as they want to see the leading duo meet in finals.

“I understand the safety net that the tournament directors see in making the surface slower,” the 20-time Grand Slam champion said on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast during the Laver Cup.

“It’s for the weaker player — he has to hit extra amazing shots to beat Sinner, whereas if it’s quick, he can only maybe blast a few and, at the right time… and he gets past.

“So that’s what the tournament directors are [thinking], like: ‘I kind of like Sinner-Alcaraz in the finals, you know? It kind of works for the game’.”

The Swiss added: “We need to have not only fast courts, but what we would want to see is Alcaraz or Sinner figure it out on lightning fast, and then have the same match on super slow and see how that matches up.”

Zverev, the current world No 3, criticised the lack of variety in playing surfaces and echoed Federer’s suggestion that this is an intentional strategy that gives Alcaraz and Sinner an advantage.

“I hate when it’s the same, to be honest,” the German said during the Shanghai Masters.

“I think the tournament directors are going towards that direction because, obviously, they want Jannik and Carlos to do well every tournament and that’s what they prefer.

“Nowadays, you can play almost the same way on every surface. I don’t like it, I’m not a fan of it. I think tennis needs different game styles, tennis needs a little bit of variety and I think we’re lacking that right now.”

Federer and Zverev’s points about the homogenisation of court speeds and conditions are certainly valid. Some tennis analysts and fans have long questioned the lack of court diversity in the modern game.

There are now far fewer courts at the extreme ends of the speed spectrum than there were in the 1990s or in earlier eras, when there were much quicker grass and indoor courts (hard and carpet), and also slower clay courts.

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The argument that courts are being made slow to benefit Alcaraz and Sinner, however, makes far less sense.

Sinner was asked directly about Federer and Zverev’s comments after his first match at the Shanghai Masters.

“You know, me and Carlos, we don’t make the courts,” said the Italian.

“It’s not our decision. We try to adapt ourself in every situation. I feel like still every week is a bit different.

“I’ve played some great tennis even when it was faster courts. But I’m not making the courts, you know, so I just try to adapt and play my best tennis I can, and that’s it.”

As Sinner alluded to in his answer, he is by no means a slow-court specialist. In fact, Sinner’s record suggests he is actually at his best on quicker surfaces.

While Sinner has won titles on all four current surfaces (grass, clay, outdoor hard and indoor hard), only one of his 22 titles to date has come on clay (at 250 level in Umag in 2022), which is the slowest court surface.

The four-time major winner has secured seven titles on indoor hard courts and two on grass, which are generally the fastest surfaces.

Sinner played arguably the best tennis of his career to date to win the 2024 ATP Finals on a quick indoor hard-court in Turin. He did not lose more than four games in any of his five matches, and this dominant run emphasised how deadly he can be when his serve and baseline aggression are enhanced by quick surfaces.

Alcaraz is a different case, having won 11 of his 24 titles, and two of his six Grand Slams, on clay courts. He has also thrived on the slow hard courts of the Indian Wells Masters, where he has triumphed twice.

For all of his success in slow conditions, though, Alcaraz is remarkably complete, and he has already proven he can win on a range of courts.

At the age of 21, Alcaraz became the youngest man to win titles on all four current surfaces by securing his maiden indoor title at the Rotterdam Open in February.

The Spaniard, who has secured two Wimbledon crowns and two Queen’s Club Championship titles, also holds a staggering 35-4 record on grass. This gives him an 89.7% grass-court win rate, which is the highest any male player holds on the surface in the Open Era.

Sinner and Alcaraz are arguably just as difficult to beat on quicker courts, and whatever the surface, they are simply in a different category to the rest of the tour.

READ NEXT: Novak Djokovic survives injury and health concerns to keep Shanghai Masters bid alive

The post Why Federer & Zverev’s controversial Carlos Alcaraz & Jannik Sinner theory doesn’t make sense appeared first on Tennis365.

Novak Djokovic battled health and injury concerns to overcome Jaume Munar in a dramatic three-set last 16 contest at the 2025 Shanghai Masters.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion prevailed 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 against 41st-ranked Munar to progress to the quarter-finals of the Masters 1000 tournament after two hours and 41 minutes.

Djokovic took a medical timeout immediately after breaking to take a 3-1 lead in the first set and grimaced at times as he was treated for what appeared to be a left leg injury.

The Serbian closed out the set with some dominant serving before he received treatment again early in the second set, and he was sick on the court during the game at 5-5 later in the same set.

After firing a forehand wide to lose the second set, Djokovic collapsed onto the court and lay flat his back.

Djokovic is down

Munar wears him down in a 74 minute set! We have one more set to play #RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/z1fpmaZYh6

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 7, 2025

The 38-year-old tennis legend looked physically spent and disconsolate, and both the chair umpire and physio went to check on him before he returned from the baseline.

Djokovic saw both the physio and the doctor during the break between sets and he recovered from 40-15 down to break Munar in the opening game of the decider.

The world No 5 increased his forehand speed considerably in the third set as he remarkably closed out the victory in style.

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The heat and humidity in Shanghai means playing conditions at the Masters 1000 tournament have been extremely challenging, and seven players have been forced to retire mid-match.

It was the second successive match in which Djokovic struggled physically after he was sick on court in his gruelling three-set third round win over Yannick Hanfmann.

After that match, Djokovic spoke about the conditions in his on-court interview.

“It’s the same for every player out on the court, but it’s brutal,” Djokovic said.

“It’s brutal when you have over 80 per cent of humidity day after day, particularly for the guys when they’re playing during the day with heat, with sun, it’s even more brutal.

“For me, biologically it’s a bit more challenging to deal with it. But I had to really weather the storm today. Yannick played an incredible match from the beginning.”

No 4 seed Djokovic is the highest-ranked player remaining at the Shanghai Masters and he is the favourite to lift the title, with Alex de Minaur and Lorenzo Musetti the only other top 10 players remaining in the draw.

Carlos Alcaraz withdrew ahead of the event and Jannik Sinner retired in his third round match due to cramping, while Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton all fell early.

READ NEXT: Jannik Sinner told he should ‘act more maliciously’ after Shanghai Masters retirement

The post Novak Djokovic survives injury and health concerns to keep Shanghai Masters bid alive appeared first on Tennis365.

Naomi Osaka admits she ‘gets stressed’ over the chase for ranking points, as she responded to questions from Tennis365 after a thrilling win against Leylah Fernandez in the opening round of the Wuhan Open.

The four-time Grand Slam champion has enjoyed a fine year of success and is closing in on a return to the top 10 of the WTA Rankings.

While ranking success may not be a priority for the champion who has returned to the top of the sport after becoming a mother, she told Tennis365 in Wuhan that the pressure of climbing the rankings remains a concern.

“That’s kind of the tough part that I was dealing with today,” said Osaka.

“Of course, I want to end the year in the top 10, but I don’t want to stress myself out too much about it.

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“During the US swing, when I had a good run, I wasn’t really thinking about rankings, other than, like, getting seated in this land.

“But Tomasz (coach Wiktorowski). told me that there’s a like a little difference between being seeded like 16 or something. So I think that’s my goal for the end of the year.”

Osaka received great support from the modest crowd in Wuhan, with her status as a superstar in this region adding to the appeal of these end-of-season tournaments.

Yet she admits the appetite to challenge for ranking points without a Grand Slam tournament on the horizon adds to the challenge.

“Mentally, it was just really tough for me today,” she added.

“I think it’s a part of the season that’s just tough, you know. I think I’m, like, really happy to have gotten through it, and I think it’ll be easier from now on.

“Today, yeah, I mean, I feel like I just have to go for my shots more. I was kind of looking at the wall. You know, the people that I’ve known here previously, and they all seem to be big hitters, so I’m just trying to do that a little bit more.

“The support was great today. I’m just really grateful. I feel like whenever I come to China, everyone shows me a lot of love, and I appreciate it so much.

“I was thinking in Beijing that I get the best gifts in China, and I don’t know, it’s just really cute, and I feel like I’m happy to see everyone, and everyone’s also happy to see me. So it’s a really good energy.”

Osaka’s 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 win against Fernandez was played in sweltering conditions in Wuhan, with tournament officials forced to invoke the heat rule for a second day in succession.

That meant the roof was partially closed for the match that followed Osaka on the Centre Court in Wuhan, but that did not help Emma Raducanu, who was forced to retire against America’s Ann Li after feeling dizzy.

READ NEXT: Emma Raducanu forced to pull out of match amid worrying scenes in Wuhan

The post Naomi Osaka reveals rankings goal and admits the chase ‘makes her stressed’ appeared first on Tennis365.

Emma Raducanu’s hopes of making a big leap up the WTA Rankings in her final W1000 event ended in worrying fashion as she was forced to pull out of the Wuhan Open after receiving medical advice on court.

Tennis365 are in attendance in Wuhan, China this week, where soaring temperatures have forced tournament officials to apply the ‘heat rule’ for the first two days of the main draw.

With that in mind, the roof was partially closed to Raducanu’s opening match against American Ann Li, but it was clear from the off that she was not comfortable in the conditions.

Li stormed to the first set with some sparkling tennis blowing Raducanu away in a one-sided set that finished 6-1 and with the conditions clearly affecting Raducanu, she called for medical attention after falling 4-1 behind in the second set.

She had her blood pressure checked and looked uneasy on her feet as she made the right decision to halt the match.

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This was a blow to Raducanu’s hopes of finishing 2025 in the top 32 of the WTA Rankings, as she targets a seeding at the Australian Open in January.

Responding to a question from Tennis365 in Wuhan, she confirmed that rankings goal is in her mind and she will be frustrated that she could not reach her top level amid the sweltering conditions.

“Being seeded for Australia is a big target for me over the next few weeks,” she stated.

“I think the higher you can go, the better it is, but it is still down to the luck of the draw. I’ve just been happy with the improvements in the last few weeks I’ve made in my game, and I just want to keep going with that.”

It will be hard for Raducanu to take too much from this match against Li as she was outclassed in the first set and clearly was not feeling healthy enough to reach the levels she was hoping for.

What comes next is a question the Brit will now need to answer, as she is due to have an extended stay in Asia as she has entered the Ningbo Open and the Pan Pacific Open.

After this experience in Wuhan, she may reconsider whether she wants to put herself through what looks set to be more hot conditions as temperatures continue to rise in China.

READ NEXT: ‘Do you want a player to die? – Why the ATP must change its rules around heat

The post Emma Raducanu forced to pull out of match amid worrying scenes in Wuhan appeared first on Tennis365.

Alexander Zverev could record his worst season in six years after another disappointing loss, this time at the hands of Arthur Rinderknech.

The No. 3 ranked player in the world lost 6-4, 3-6, 2-6 to the No. 54 ranked player at the Shanghai Masters, giving the Frenchman a 2-0 head-to-head versus the German.

It comes as part of what has been an undeniably disappointing season for Zverev and one that could see him record his worst win/loss ratio since 2020.

Of the 69 matches Zverev has played this year, he has lost 21 of them, meaning his loss percentage is at 30.43%.

Since 2020, that number has almost always been below 30% aside from the 2023 season when Zverev lost 32.93% of the matches he played in.

Left on his 2025 season, Zverev has potentially the Vienna Open, Paris Masters and ATP Finals and should he fail to win a significant portion of matches, he could end the year having lost more than 32.93% of his matches.

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The last time he did that came back in 2019 when he lost 36.23% of the matches played.

Zverev has already equalled the number of losses he had last year but currently, he won 69 matches compared to the 48 he has so far won in 2025.

From a loss percentage ratio, Zverev’s best year came in 2021 when he lost just 20.27% of the matches he played.

The German has also won just one title this year (the BMW Open in Munich) and has won at least two every year since 2020 other than in 2022.

Rinderknech, meanwhile, is on course for his most successful year to date and after beating Zverev for the second time, he said it was “huge.”

“This is huge,” the 30-year-old said. “I had my first Top 5 win at a Grand Slam at Wimbledon against Sascha [Zverev] and it happens again.

“I guess I am a bit lucky against him and able to play my best tennis. I need to play my best tennis to beat a guy like Sascha, at No. 3 for many years, such a steady player and a very good player. I am very happy.”

Zverev’s latest loss also comes just days after he criticized tournaments for setting up courts to favour Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, suggesting they were slower.

“I hate when it’s the same and I know that the tournament directors are going towards that direction because obviously they want Jannik and Carlos to do well every tournament, and that’s what they prefer,” Zverev said.

“I’ve been on tour for 12 years now and we always had different surfaces. We always had tournaments which you liked and we always had tournaments which you didn’t like so much.”

Read next: Emma Raducanu reveals her most satisfying achievement may not have come on a tennis court

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