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.
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