Novak Djokovic commends 'smart' Sinner after making tricky career-defining decision

The whole perception surrounding Novak Djokovic has completely flipped. The Serbian has gone from a winless North American hardcourt swing where his body failed and a threatened twilight to his career to winning a historic seventh China Open title, playing himself into some incredible form ahead of the Shanghai Masters. Now one of the favourites for the title, the four-time champion is raring to go once more in China.

That campaign in Beijing was mesmerising. He took down Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev and an unfortunate Alex de Minaur who retired after losing the first-set tiebreak to Djokovic. It was a 102nd ATP title, a 21st consecutive year where he triumphed, a 34th consecutive win at the China Open and clear evidence that his time in the sport is not yet over.

Speaking to the media ahead of the latest Masters 1000 event, Djokovic was in good spirits. "Great to be back to Shanghai once again. Yeah, it was a phenomenal week for me, Beijing, the best week of this year, no doubt. I'm trying to build momentum on that here in Shanghai as well, use the confidence and hopefully have another great deep run in this tournament, another tournament in China where I've done very well in my career.

"I enjoy playing in China. I've said it many times, the fans, the support has been tremendous. Last week it was really something remarkable, very special in terms of the support and love that I've been getting from people on the stadium and outside. So, that kind of energy that I really always need as a player on the court, I try to use and perform as best as I can."

Djokovic, who reached the semi-finals last year, has a tough opening test against Hubert Hurkacz. The Pole defeated James Duckworth in straight sets in his first match in Shanghai since winning the title in 2023, meaning he extends his unbeaten streak to seven.

The big news heading into the tournament is that Jannik Sinner will not be a part of it. Added to that, the World No.1 will not be competing for the rest of the campaign due to a knee injury. It came as sudden yet slightly predictable news for many with the Italian having not featured since July in the Wimbledon final.

Djokovic, who was one of the three players to defeat Sinner in 2026, promised to get in touch with the five-time Grand Slam champion. "I haven't been in touch with Jannik since he got injured. I saw the news, well, two days ago. I'll reach out to him to see, you know, how he's doing."

From firsthand experience with injuries, he knew that it would be tough to navigate. "I don't know what it is, really," he said. "If somebody says it's a knee, someone, you know, I'm not sure exactly. But as someone that has been through some major injuries in my career, one particularly that took me out for, you know, six, seven months was the elbow, you know, back in 2017. I had a surgery, and the only, like, big surgery that I had, really. So, I'm aware of how difficult that is and making that comeback.

"Of course, physically, if you're ready, you're ready. You're evaluating that with your team constantly, and you then come back to play at the highest level when you get the green light to be able to compete."

The big factor comes mentally. "You're on the court and you're thinking, you know, am I really completely healed and free to make this run. I mean, for him, if it's a knee, obviously it's affecting everything. It's affecting every single movement."

This follows in suit of Carlos Alcaraz making his return to the sport after a lengthy wrist injury proved extremely costly. It is a big blow for tennis with its two top talents not featuring that much in 2026. "I'm sure that he with his team is making wise choices," Djokovic continued. "And, you know, he's been the best player in the world, and he's been a dominant force for the last couple of years, along with Carlos, for sure the tennis misses him."

When all is said and done, he was on board with the thinking behind the layoff, agreeing with the decision not to risk the body and even labelling it as 'smart'. "But at the same time, he has to think long-term. And this is what I think I saw that he said, that he's thinking long-term. That's smart because, you know, as someone that is, that was always advised and always tried to have the big picture in my mind, I really support that kind of thinking and mindset. It's important that you give yourself more years to your career, so you have more chances to accomplish all of your objectives."

From one side of an injury to the other, Holger Rune is making a return to tennis action. It has been almost a year since his horrific achilles injury that saw him plummet down the order while a lengthy recovery process commenced.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion was among the names chuffed to see the Dane playing tennis once more. "I'm very, very happy that he's back. I like Holger. I also like playing him. We always have great battles, really. You know, I watched highlights of that match where he got injured and what happened and, you know, the replay of that. It was horrible to watch, honestly."

Djokovic has been known to hand out advice on a regular basis, and has kept a close eye on Rune while. "I've been in touch with him several times while he was absent from the tour. We went back and forth on different topics. Of course, I've been keeping track on his return. I was very glad that he was able to come back and make his comeback at Davis Cup in his country, so that was very nice."

His return to the ATP Tour has not been the most productive in terms of results. He could not provide his best form in the Japan Open against Kyrian Jacquet before being pegged back after an electric first set against Daniel Altmaier in Shanghai.

"I saw that last night he had a tough battle and tough loss," Djokovic noted. "But, you know, it will take some time, I guess. It's really relative. It's very individual, you know. His injury is one of the worse injuries that you can have. It took him away for a year almost. The match play is completely different than any practice sets or, you know, practice competition that you are getting.

"I mean, it's really difficult to compare. Because the nerves kick in, and then, you know, you have your score being called. And then all of a sudden every shot, every point matters and you're afraid to miss. Then you get tense and stressed and that affects the whole game, right? So he just needs to get more matches going, and I hope that he is going to find his best game very soon."