| October 9, 2024 | by Vivienne Christie |
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Looking back on their illustrious tennis careers would be an unquestionably confidence-boosting pastime for the 30-something stars who feature in the 2024 Rolex Shanghai Masters fourth round.
Novak Djokovic, Grigor Dimitrov, Gael Monfils and David Goffin have each experienced heady rankings heights and amassed multiple milestones at tournaments throughout the world.
Their respective histories at the Rolex Shanghai Masters feature prominently in those tournament highs.
No player has made a greater impact in the Rolex Shanghai Masters record books than Novak Djokovic, whose tour titles are a tournament high. Dimitrov has progressed to the Shanghai quarterfinals and semifinals in his past two Qi Zhong appearances. Monfils and Goffin are also former quarterfinalists at this event.
For now, however, those 30-something stars are living firmly in the moment in their eye-turning Rolex Shanghai Masters campaigns.
Both on the court and off it, Djokovic has maximised every minute of his long-awaited return to a favourite city. Alongside two straight-sets victories (to add to the record 36 match wins he's already claimed at the tournament) he has amassed so far in his 10th Rolex Shanghai Masters appearance, the 37-year-old Serbian has taken time to visit parts of Shanghai.
"China has incredible history and tradition and culture, so we try to combine that with kind of a modern touch," said Djokovic, whose subsequent social media posts were widely shared. "I hope people like it."
The prolific champion has also revived some beloved Shanghai rituals. Spending time in nature is a meditative activity for the nature-loving Djokovic, who embraced a favourite "fortune tree" at his accommodation near the Qi Zhong Tennis Stadium.
"Mother Nature has so much energy and incredible vibrations that we are sometimes forgetting about how beneficial they are for us," he related. "I repeated this little ceremony this year as well, kind of wishing good luck and just paying a tribute to an incredible life of that tree that is, you know, a thousand years plus old."
After close to two decades as a professional, a grateful Dimitrov is cherishing new opportunities in his time on tour - and especially loves those that are presented in Shanghai. Ahead of his eighth campaign at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, the 33-year-old visited a local exhibition with Casper Ruud.
"I feel like every year I'm experiencing new things, new feelings. It's always like my first time, almost, you know, and I think that's great," said Dimitrov. "I'm starting to explore more and more of the city, get tiny bits of the culture, went to amazing museum. Yeah, just, overall, I've been able to naturally get myself in a very nice spot."
That attitude is helping bring out the 33-year-old's best tennis. Dimitrov's semifinal run at last year's Rolex Shanghai Masters was among the critical milestones in return to the world's top 10.
Goffin, also age 33 and experiencing a resurgence of his own this season, was inspired by Dimitrov's success.
"Grigor played an amazing year. Started from, I would say, here (in Shanghai) last year, and then final in Paris, and then he came back in the top 10," said the 66th-ranked Belgian, who has claimed Shanghai match wins over two higher-ranked opponents to record his best ATP Masters 1000 tournament in more than two years.
"You know, we were in the final of the Masters in 2017 against Grigor, and just to see him now going back in the top 10, I was like, ‘Okay, it's quite unbelievable'. We have the same age, so I was like, 'Why shouldn't I come back as well, and try to go back in the higher ranking? It was quite an inspiration to see what he does, what he did last year."
Monfils, meanwhile, laughs at the suggestion that age is just a number - "I wish, I wish," said the Frenchman - while noting that at age 38, every individual match win is a joyful experience.
"I'm always happy," said Monfils after the third-round victory that saw him become the second-oldest man, after Roger Federer in 2014, to reach Shanghai's final 16. "Any win, it's something, it means that I still got it, can still compete against great players. (I'm) just happy with that."
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