Novak Djokovic delighted to show the world he's "still got it" after beating opponent half his age in Shanghai Masters QF

The 37-year-old Novak Djokovic reached his 78th ATP Masters 1000 semifinals by defeating a player nearly half his age, Jakub Mensik in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Shanghai Masters. This was the Serb's first matchup against Mensik.

He faced a stern challenge from the Czech who claimed the opening set in a tight tiebreaker. Djokovic, however, raised his level drastically in the following set to draw level on the back of two break-point conversions. He then kept the tempo up to take the third set and secure a 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-4 win against the 19-year-old.

The Serb, who hasn't had much success out of Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year, was pleased with his performance.

"It means more because I don't get many opportunities. I mean, I have a selective schedule, so, and I haven't played at my highest level throughout this year, except maybe few occasions, Wimbledon, Olympics, and so forth," he said in his post-match press conference.

A four-time champion in Shanghai, Djokovic noted that young opponents like Mensik encourage him to produce great levels.

"China has been always a happy place, a place where I really played my best tennis throughout my career," he added. "So, these kind of matches against teenagers, it's something that really motivates me, keeps me going, and pushes me to really dig deep, and to show to the world that I still got it in my legs, can still go the distance with the young guys. So, I'm super glad that I managed to win this very challenging match."

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Novak Djokovic: "Jakub Mensik's got a bright future"

2024 Shanghai Rolex Masters - Day 12 - Source: Getty

In the same presser at the Shanghai Masters, Novak Djokovic dissected his performance against Jakub Mensik further and said:

"In terms of mentally, I felt good. I mean, I did feel quite tight at the end of the first, and I wasn't playing my best tennis at that point, so I was a bit upset with myself for not closing out the first set. But I bounced back, you know, I started off the second very well, won 6-1," the 24-time Grand Slam champion said.

Djokovic then praised Mensik and suggested the youngster has the potential to do well.

"Third set, I had a lot of opportunities in his service games, but, you know, his serve is tremendous, so much pace and power and precision, very difficult to play him. I know him for three, four years, I've been following his rise through the rankings, his development. He's a nice guy, super talented player, great prospect. He's got a bright future, for sure, if he keeps going," he added.

For a spot in the final, Djokovic will square off with American Taylor Fritz, the seventh seed, on October 12. Fritz hasn't dropped a set in Shanghai yet and defeated Belgian David Goffin 6-3, 6-4 in his quarterfinals meet.

However, Djokovic is undefeated in his nine encounters with Fritz on the ATP Tour.