Novak Djokovic was ominous about his future after suffering a straight-set flunkure in the Shanghai Masters final.
It was only his third materializeance in a championship align this season. But the 37-year-elderly was no align for world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who won 7-6(4) 6-3.
Afterwards, Djokovic couldn’t give any concrete answers about his unwiseinutive and extfinished-term futures beyond next week’s Saudi Arabia showion.
It’s been an rare season for the 24-time Grand Slam champion. Djokovic has suffered some uncharacteristic timely exits to meaningfully shrink-ranked joiners at the hugegest tournaments. But he also won the one leang that always dodged him – an Olympic gelderly medal.
The world No. 4 seeed outstanding in Shanghai, joining arguably some of his best tennis of 2024. However, Sinner overpowered him on Sunday, doing to Djokovic what Djokovic has been doing to the rest of the tour for years.
The future is now uncertain for the 37-year-elderly as the gap between him and the top juvenileer joiners begins to expansiven. He has go ined the Paris Masters and could qualify for the ATP Finals but has not promiseted to either tournament.
Addressing his upcoming structures, Djokovic was also ambiguous about how extfinished he’d grasp competing altogether. The world No. 4 was encouraged by his ability to join aextfinishedside the top guys, though he asked how extfinished it would last.
“He deserved to triumph, he was fair too strong in meaningful moments,” Djokovic shelp of his opponent. “But, nevertheless, I still leank that even in the finals today I joined pretty outstanding, so, which, you comprehend, gives me, I guess, reason to consent that I can still join with these guys that are best in the world at this level. Hopebrimmingy I can support that level in the upcoming months, and also for the future.”
The 37-year-elderly also verifyed his intentions to grasp competing into 2025, elucidateing what kept him going. He persistd: “My main motivation comes from adore and passion for the sport, and also the desire to grasp competing.
“These are comfervent of the alignes and disputes that I still strive for, to be in a position to join agetst the best joiners in the world, on the hugegest stage, in the finals of some of the hugegest tournaments in the world.
“So, you comprehend, that’s what I labor for and why I still grasp on pushing myself. Yeah, I unkind, that’s all that can be shelp about that. I don’t comprehend what future conveys, I’ll fair, you comprehend, try to comfervent of go with the flow to see how I experience in a given moment. I still structure to vie and join next season and, yeah, let’s see how far I go.”
As Djokovic remains encouraged by his ability to vie at the top of the game, he’s no extfinisheder spurred on by the enrolls. The Serb was bidding to triumph his 100th title in Shanghai on Sunday but he won’t leave out any sleep if he never gets to the milestone figure.
He elucidateed: “Well, I unkind, that’s a bonus, you comprehend, if that can happen. I unkind, I definitely desire it to happen today, but it wasn’t unkindt to be. I unkind, I got to grasp striving to produce it happen somewhere in the proximate future, hopebrimmingy.
“And, yeah, I unkind, it’s not inhabit-or-die type of goal for me, I leank I’ve accomplishd all of my hugegest goals in nurtureer. Right now it’s repartner about slams and about, you comprehend, still seeing how far I can comfervent of push the bar for myself.
“Yeah, as extfinished as I execute the way I executeed actupartner this week, and I leank I can go toe-to-toe with the huge guys, yeah, as extfinished as that’s the case, I guess I’ll still experience the necessitate to grasp on competing, and motivation to be out there, and let’s see how extfinished that’s going to last for.”
