Djokovic, victorious in Shanghai, still in shock about Nadal’s farewell

“He was my biggest rival,” said Novak Djokovic, after he had qualified with some difficulty for the semi-finals of the masters tournament in Shanghai. But that was not about his opponent, the Czech Jakúb Mensik (ATP-65), whom he defeated 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-4.

With those words he quoted Rafael Nadal, the Spaniard who announced his retirement as a professional tennis player yesterday. “The rivalry with him has had the most influence on me, on my career. By far,” said Djokovic, who has crossed swords with Nadal 60 times and emerged victorious 31 times.

“We know that this moment will come sooner or later, but it will still be a shock when it does. That was also the case with Roger (Federer) a few years ago and with Andy (Murray) this year,” said the 24-time grand slam winner, the two other top players with whom he and Nadal have played in recent decades Big Four formed.

“To be honest, it overwhelms me a bit. I don’t really know what to say about it. A part of me has also left with them, a large part actually. It is unpleasant news for tennis and for the sport in general, because Rafa has inspired millions of children in the world and he continues to do so. He can be very proud of his career.”

In the meantime, the 37-year-old Djokovic still has no intention of giving up and he reached the last four in Shanghai, although he was not given the gift of Mensik, eighteen years his junior. The 1.93 meter tall Czech kept pace with the four-time tournament winner for a long time, partly thanks to his strong serve.

After a break at 4-4, the first set seemed to go to Djokovic, but Mensík, who had previously impressed with victories over top ten players Andrei Rublev and Grigor Dimitrov, repaired the damage with eight points in a row and won despite a 3- 0 behind, the tiebreak.

Djokovic then had the upper hand. He worked more conservatively, made fewer mistakes and handled Mensík’s second serve especially well. Despite a painful left knee, he pushed convincingly against the youngster, who began to visibly feel the five three-setters he already had in his legs.

In the semi-finals of the tournament in the Chinese metropolis, which was won last year by the Pole Hubert Hurkacz after corona had prevented him three years earlier, the fourth-seeded Djokovic meets the American Taylor Fritz.

The other semi-final battle is between Jannik Sinner, the Italian number one in the world, and the Czech Tomás Machác (ATP-33), who surprised in the quarter-finals with a win over Carlos Alcaraz (ATP-2).