Novak Djokovic admitted he has had a decent run in 2025 after qualifying for all the semifinals of Grand Slams in the ongoing season. The Serbian came up with consistent performances in all the Majors but failed to get over the line against Sinner and Alcaraz in the semis.
Djokovic admitted that he has a better chance in three sets against the young duo and when the tournament lasts for a week. The former World No.1 is all set to take part in the Shanghai Masters and he would return to the tour after his US Open semifinal loss against eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.
“I’m still working my hardest that I possibly can in the circumstances 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,” Djokovic said on Thursday during his pre-tournament press conference in Shanghai. “Of course, best-of-three, duration of the tournament, ideally seven days, that’s where I feel I have a better chance to win a trophy or to make a significant result.
Speaking on playing against Alcaraz and Sinner, Djokovic said, “Other than those matches that I lost to these two best players in the world, I think I played really good tennis in Grand Slams and reached semi-finals in each one of them. So it speaks about the level and the consistency and so I’m pleased with that. But at the same time, there’s a part of me that always is a winner, that, you know, wants to be the best. I’ve been fortunate to experience the greatest thing.”
Djokovic said it is not ideal that he is continuously losing against Alcaraz and Sinner, but he wants to keep going strongly on the tour.
“It is not ideal when you really are playing big matches and you’re losing against currently the best players in the world. But nevertheless, that’s not discouraging me to keep going,” Djokovic said. “I don’t play tennis only for the sake of making results and winning trophies, there’s several other reasons why I keep going.”
Djokovic will face Marin Čilić in the opening round of the Shanghai Masters.
