Serbian Tennis star Novak Djokovic overcome an intense bout of ankle pain to beat Jaume Munar in the Round of 16 match in the ongoing Shanghai Masters 2025. In the process, the 38-year-old broke the legendary Roger Federer's record to become the oldest player to reach Masters 1000 quarter-finals, doing so in 38 years and four months.
At one stage, Djokovic was in pain to the extent that he collapsed on the court, needing some treatment after that. However, he still managed to beat his Spanish counterpart 3-6, 7-5 2-6 to reach the next round. Djokovic is due to face Germany's Zizou Bergs in the quarter-final.
It was in the second set that Djokovic began to struggle as Munar went on to fight back and force a decider. But the 38-year-old held his nerve to gain a win in the final set.
Novak Djokovic refuses on-court interview in Shanghai after hard-fought triumph
The 24-time Grand Slam winner refused to do an on-court interview due to feeling the intense heat in Shanghai. The star athlete will hope to clinch the title after suffering various injuries in the tournament.
The landmark 25th Grand Slam title has eluded Djokovic for quite a while, having stumbled in the semi-finals of the last three Grand Slam events. After the US Open semi-final defeat, he said, as quoted by BBC Sport:
"I still want to play Grand Slams and a full Grand Slam season next year. Let's see whether that's going to happen or not. But Slams are Slams - they are just different from any other tournament. They are the pillars of our sport, the most important tournaments we have."
