Novak Djokovic returning a shot at the Shanghai Masters |Image Credits: IMAGO/VCG
Novak Djokovic fought back against Yannick Hanfmann to win the Round of 32 fixture 4-6, 7-5, and 6-3 on Sunday in the Shanghai Masters.
After losing the first game of the first set, Hanfmann raced into a 4-2 lead and eventually won the first set 6-4 courtesy of a few beautiful serves and lobbed shots that kept Djokovic at bay.
Djokovic then won every game he served in during the second set, and Hanfmann did the same in the first five games he served, but faltered in the last game. The experience and guile of the Serbian ace helped him steer the result of the second set in his favor, and he carried the momentum into the final set.
Courtesy of many unforced errors from the German baseliner, Djokovic rapidly wrapped up the decider set as well to proceed to the next round of the tournament.
Discussing the conditions on a hot day in Shanghai, Djokovic said, “It’s the same for every player that steps out on the court. It’s brutal when you have over 80% of humidity day after day for the guys, particularly when they're playing during the day with heat, with the sun, it's even more brutal.”
He continued, “It is what it is. You just have to deal with it. For me, biologically, a bit more challenging to deal with it.”
Hanfmann had an excellent match, and it’s a loss that would hurt him since the German star player was on top for most parts of the first and the second set, but couldn’t capitalize against the wily Djokovic.
Talking about Hanfmann’s efforts, Djokovic quipped, “I had to really weather the storm today. Yannick played an incredible match from the beginning. It was a mediocre game from my side. It was so hard to read his serve. He was serving so accurately with high percentage and just smacking every ball that he had basically on his racket. So tough to play.”
The comeback from the 38-year old tennis ace was one to remember for his fans, and every neutral must have enjoyed the Serb getting back to his best towards the business end of the season.
Discussing the comeback, the former World No.1 exclaimed, “That crowd really got me up towards the end of the second set. I started to feel that I could stay in the rally, read his serve, make him play an extra shot. He was starting to make some errors. I was starting to swing a bit more freely through the ball.”
Djokovic concluded, “All in all, it was a great battle, something that I’m quite familiar with. Throughout my career, I've won plenty of matches where I maybe hadn't been the better player for most of the match, but hanging in there found (me) a way again.”
Earlier in the day, Japan Open runner-up Taylor Fritz was knocked out of the tournament, while 10th-seeded Holger Rune moved to the next round of the Shanghai Masters. Jaume Munar is also having a decent season in 2025 and will now get ready to face Djokovic in the Round of 16 of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
