Novak Djokovic gave himself a brutal reality check after losing the Shanghai Masters final to Jannik Sinner.
The 37-year-old played some of his best tennis of the season in China. But he was no match for the world No. 1 on Sunday and never even got to deuce on the Sinner serve.
Afterwards, Djokovic confirmed that 2024 had been one of his “worst performing seasons” as he questioned whether he’d be able to win another Grand Slam title.
Although he fell at the final hurdle, the Shanghai Masters was one of Djokovic’s best outings this season. By his standards, 2024 has been a disappointing year marred by early exits at some of the biggest tournaments.
But the world No. 4 nabbed the one title he really wanted, downing Carlos Alcaraz to win his first Olympic gold medal in the summer. His other two final appearances ended in defeat – Alcaraz beat him at Wimbledon and Sinner won their Shanghai showdown 7-6(4) 6-3.
Sunday’s loss only cemented Djokovic’s bleak thoughts on his year so far. “Well, I mean, comparing to most of my seasons throughout my career this has been one of the worst-performing seasons in terms of results,” he said.
In spite of his gold medal victory, the 37-year-old questioned whether he was reaching the point of his career when he couldn’t get over the line to win the biggest titles anymore.
He continued: “But, you know, it was going to come at some point where, you know, I wouldn’t win slams and maintain that highest level for so many years in a row.
“And that’s okay, I’m happy with my gold medal from Olympics, that was the main goal for this year. And, you know, of course I wish that I could have gotten at least a Grand Slam title or won big title, but it’s fine, you know, it is what it is.”
But Djokovic is content with his career, even if it’s becoming harder to compete with the top young guys.
“It’s a kind of a season that you just have to accept, embrace, and I’m more than happy with what I have achieved throughout my career, so I’ll just, yeah, see what next challenges bring to me,” he added.
Djokovic will still leave Shanghai feeling good about his performance. He explained: “Well, I think there’s quite a few positives that I can take.
“First of all, I think the level of my tennis was really good this tournament, probably best after Olympic games in terms of how I played, how I performed, how I fought.
“I did my best tonight. Under the circumstances, you know, I felt maybe not a hundred per cent 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 good, so, which, you know, gives me, I guess, 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.”
