Novak Djokovic gives very honest injury update ahead of Shanghai semi-final

Friday, 10 October 2025 at 14:18

byErik Virostko

Novak Djokovic is close to winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title in two years, but as it so often is at this stage of a tennis career, he is fighting not only his opponents but also his body.

At 38, Djokovic is the oldest man in the Top 50. Despite that, he has been the best player behind only Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner this year. No other man has earned more points this year than the Serbian.

He can make that No. 3 rank in the 2025 ATP Race even more secure at the 2025 Shanghai Masters. Djokovic made it to the semi-finals, thanks not only to his great play but also to not facing anyone from the Top 40.

His next opponent will be the "easiest" one ranking-wise, but that's certainly not how Djokovic or anyone else looks at the matchup. World No. 204, Valentin Vacherot, is having the tournament of his life and will try to record another impressive win, this time against Djokovic.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion beat Marin Cilic, Yannick Hanfmann, Jaume Munar, and Zizou Bergs to reach the semi-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai. But apart from his opponents, Djokovic has also dealt with some health struggles.

He repeatedly vomited on the court and has struggled with the conditions in Shanghai throughout the event. On top of that, he appeared to be struggling with other setbacks as well, which is why Djokovic provided an update on his physical state ahead of his semi-final match.

"Well, it might like easy for you, but I assure you it wasn't easy. No win is easy at this level. Zizou Bergs has been playing some terrific tennis this tournament. I think it would be disrespectful towards him to say it was easy. It was a tough-earned victory in two sets."

"My leg was good. There's always something happening with the body pretty much every match that I play right now. There's some other issues that I'm trying to address day by day, and hopefully it's going to get better as the tournament progresses. I have a day off to my semifinal, so that's really good. Yeah, I'm going to come back with, of course, the right attitude and intention to win."

Novak Djokovic refuses to underestimate world No. 204 ahead of Shanghai semi-final

Djokovic will play in the semi-finals of an ATP Masters 1000 tournament against world No. 204 for the first time in his career. In fact, he has never faced anyone outside the Top 100, either. Djokovic's lowest-ranked semi-final opponent at a Masters event was Alexander Dolgopolov at the 2015 Cincinnati Open. Dolgopolov was ranked 66th in the world at the time. He was also the only Top 50 player that the Serbian has ever played against in the semi-finals of a Masters event.

Now, Djokovic will have a new experience, taking on Vacherot for a spot in the final. But the Serbian is too experienced to underestimate his opponent, whom he seems to know quite well.

"I've known him for last couple of years. Obviously he's ranked before this tournament 200-plus. He's been around. He's playing for Monaco, which is a really great success, the biggest historical success for Monaco. It's amazing. So everyone is excited there. We know we have one of the nicest and biggest tournaments in our sport there in Monaco."

"So I'm glad for him, for his team. Benjamin Balleret is someone I've known for many years from Monaco, because being based there for 15 years, training at the Monte-Carlo Country Club. He's been improving a lot. We always knew that he's got a great potential, with a big serve, a big game, he's a big guy."

"He kind of plays quite similar to Rinderknech, you know. And I see that they're quite close. The serve particularly reminds me of Arthur as well. So it's great to see that chemistry between them, that they're supporting each other. Arthur was there the whole match. Yeah, historic success for him and, yeah, I'm looking forward to play him. Hopefully I can get a win."