Novak Djokovic said he had to “fire up all engines” as he overcame a stodgy first set to reach the third round of the Shanghai Masters on Friday, beating fellow veteran Marin Cilic 7-6 (7/2), 6-4. The 38-year-old Serb is chasing a record-extending fifth title in Shanghai, where he was greeted by rapturous cheers as he entered a stadium packed with adoring Chinese fans. The combined age of Djokovic and Cilic — 75 years and 139 days — was the oldest between two opponents in an ATP Masters 1000 main draw match.
“I did enjoy it, but I also suffered a lot on the court,” Djokovic said after launching his title bid.
“It was a very close match. He was probably the better player for the first set,” he added, saying he needed to “fire up all engines”.
The first set was hard-fought, with 94th-ranked Cilic’s best chance to break the 24-time Grand Slam champion coming but going in the 11th game.
Djokovic seemed to regain his footing in the tiebreak, steaming ahead to prevail 7-2.
The world number five then broke the Croat in the third game of the second set and kept his cool in a tense 10th game to secure victory with a final ace.
Djokovic said he felt both he and Cilic had “performed like we were maybe 15 years younger”.
“We keep challenging each other, but also the young guys on the tour,” Djokovic said, after playing for the first time since losing to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in the US Open semi-finals a month ago.
“At the end of the day, age doesn’t matter when you walk out on the court, you have to find a way to win.”
Djokovic lost to world number two Jannik Sinner, 14 years his junior, in the final last year.
Sinner will start his defence against Germany’s Daniel Altmaier on Saturday.
– Fritz through, Shelton out –
World number four Taylor Fritz also edged through to the next round but had a tough time getting past 52nd-ranked Fabian Marozsan 2-6, 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/1).
The Hungarian broke Fritz in the sixth and eighth games, and the American looked harried as he struggled to make headway.
Missing his chance to break Marozsan in the 11th game of the second set, he hit his racket on the ground in frustration several times.
But he outclassed Marozsan in both the second and third-set tiebreaks, thrilling the late-night spectators.
“I just told myself to keep fighting and keep working for it… I was able to just get really fired up in the end,” he said.
Compatriot Ben Shelton was not so lucky, becoming the first top-10 seed to be booted out of the competition after being beaten by 83rd-ranked David Goffin.
The Belgian underdog beat 22-year-old Shelton, ranked sixth in the world, 6-2, 6-4.
The American has been recovering from a shoulder injury sustained at the US Open.
However, Goffin has form when it comes to eliminating top players — he upset world number one Alcaraz in Miami in March.
Teenager Learner Tien — fresh from losing the final of the China Open against Sinner in Beijing on Wednesday — continued his recent good form, beating Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic to advance to the second round.
Alcaraz is not in Shanghai, having withdrawn to rest after beating Fritz to win the Japan Open.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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