Novak Djokovic admitted that he wasn't fresh in the 2024 Shanghai Masters final, which he lost to Jannik Sinner.
Djokovic played more than five matches at a tournament only four times in 2024, something he hadn't experienced before. Every season since 2018, the Serbian player has won at least that many trophies, showing how few deep runs he had this year.
Reaching the 2024 Shanghai Masters final, Djokovic knew that he would have to beat the best player on the ATP Tour to win the title, and the injury concerns from his previous matches certainly didn't make that seem possible.
Djokovic struggled with some knee pain in his quarter-final match, and the 37-year-old then also requested a medical time out in his semi-final match against Taylor Fritz.
Still, he was able to play the final and even came very close to winning the first set of the match, which he lost only in a tie-break. Eventually, however, he lost the match in two sets, and following the loss, he spoke about his tournament.
Djokovic admitted that in the final match, he didn't feel 100% fresh, which could be related to both his physical struggles and the lack of having gone that far in many events this year.
"I did my best tonight. Under the circumstances. I felt maybe not a hundred percent fresh, but at the same time 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."
"But, nevertheless, I still think that even in the finals today, I played pretty well, so, which gives me, I guess, a reason to believe that I can still play with these guys that are best in the world at this level. Hopefully, I can maintain that level in the upcoming months and also for the future."
Having won everything that tennis has to offer, the Serbian has often been asked one question in recent weeks: Is he still motivated to compete and fight for the trophies?
He has a very simple answer for that. He's as motivated as ever. He still loves and is passionate about tennis, which motivates him to push himself and work towards the goal of winning tournaments.
"My main motivation comes from love and passion for the sport, and also the desire to keep competing. These are kind of the matches and challenges that I still strive for, to be in a position to play against the best players in the world, on the biggest stage, in the finals of some of the biggest tournaments in the world."
"So, that's what I work for and why I still keep on pushing myself. That's all that can be said about that. I don't know what future brings, I'll just, you know, try to kind of go with the flow to see how I feel in a given moment. I still plan to compete and play next season and, yeah, let's see how far I go."
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