Novak Djokovic will play in the 2024 Shanghai Masters final, but his health remains one big question mark.
The 99-time ATP Tour-level titlist might have enjoyed his best tournament in 2024, apart from the Paris Olympics, but it wasn’t without some concerns regarding his health.
Already in his quarter-final match against Jakub Mensik, the Serbian player seemingly injured his left knee. It came late in the match when he already had a one-break advantage in the third set, and he was still able to win the match despite clearly showing signs of discomfort.
Following the match, he dismissed any concerns surrounding his health, which made all of his fans happy. However, what certainly didn’t make all of the Serbian player’s fans happy was that the issues appeared again in his match against Taylor Fritz.
The 24-time major winner took a medical time out to address an issue, which it wasn’t clear if was related to his left knee or left hip, but again, he was able to win the match after that.
Following his victory, the four-time Shanghai Masters champion spoke about how fitting it was that he could compete for his 100th title in Shanghai, a place where he had so much success before.
“Yeah, it’s always special. In China, it feels like a destiny to fight for a 100th title here in a place where I’ve had great success in the past, where I have tremendous support.”
“And very grateful, especially tonight, the atmosphere was electric, people were really backing me all the way through. So, yeah, it’s great to play in such atmosphere, you know, and just gets me going and motivates me to push even harder.”
Although winning his 100th title is a fascinating storyline surrounding Djokovic at the moment, the more pressing question during his press conference was definitely the one related to his health.
Seeing the 37-year-old seemingly battle his health in back-to-back matches is never a positive sign, and that’s why, once again, he was almost immediately asked about his health.
Despite struggling with issues in two consecutive matches, Djokovic surprisingly didn’t show any signs of concern, once again brushing off suggestions that he could be struggling with an injury.
“Yeah, it was a little bit different, but, again, both are not concerning me at the moment, knowing that I went through and finished the match, both yesterday and today, so good news.”
Knowing that two of his former team members are now on the team of his final opponent, Jannik Sinner, the Serbian player certainly needs to watch his words regarding his physical state. Those two know a lot about how he approaches these issues and how they could be exposed.
On the other hand, it wouldn’t be surprising if fitness coach Marco Panichi and physiotherapist Ulises Badio remained professionals and didn’t try to help their current employer by exposing their former employer’s weaknesses, especially regarding his health.
