Despite his unfortunate loss to Jannik Sinner at the Shanghai Masters, former world number one Novak Djokovic viewed his overall performance in a positive light after bouncing back from poor form at the US Open.
After winning his first Olympics gold medal at the Paris Games, the 24-time Grand Slam champion lost to Alexei Popyrin in the third round of the US Open.
However, Djokovic looked in great condition at the Shanghai Masters, playing with excellent consistency all throughout his matches until he reached his fifth final at the ATP Masters 1000 event. Unfortunately, he lost to world number one Sinner 7-6(4), 6-3.
After the match, Djokovic said: “I think there’s quite a few positives that I can take. I think the level of my tennis was really good this tournament, probably best after the Olympics in terms of how I played, how I performed, how I fought.”
He added: “I did my best tonight. Under the circumstances, I felt maybe not 100 per cent fresh, but big credit to Jannik for playing the big points better than me, and that’s what made the difference. He deserved to win, he was just too strong in important moments… I still think that in the final today I played pretty good, which gives me reason to believe that I can still play with these guys that are the best in the world. Hopefully I can maintain that level in the upcoming months, and also for the future.”
In a social media post, Djokovic said: “Tough to take the L at a tournament so close to my heart, but it wasn’t meant to be today. Bravo @janniksin and to your team for today’s win and on an incredible year.”
He added: “To the people of Shanghai, and all Chinese fans, thank you for your support, your passion and your kindness. It’s been very special to be back here. See you soon.”
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No 100th title for Djokovic yet
Sinner’s victory ended Djokovic’s hopes of adding a 100th singles to his collection of awards. After Roger Federer (103) and Jimmy Conners (109), he would have been the only man to reach this milestone.
He stated: “I’ve got to keep striving to make it happen somewhere in the near future, hopefully. It’s not a live-or-die type of goal for me… I think I’ve achieved all of my biggest goals in my career. Right now it’s really about Grand Slams and about seeing how far I can kind of push the bar for myself.”
Source: CNA