| October 8, 2024 | by Vivienne Christie |
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The form that has delivered Novak Djokovic with unparalleled heights at the Rolex Shanghai Masters titles has become more than a memory in his return to Qi Zhong Tennis Centre.
At age 37, the four-time champion produced his vintage best to overcome Flavio Cobolli on Tuesday, with Djokovic requiring just over an hour to claim a 6-1 6-2 victory.
"(It was a) great level of tennis I think from me from the beginning. I had a clear game plan what I need to do and how to execute it," said Djokovic of the third-round win, which contrasted with the near two hours required to eliminate Alex Michelsen in his opening match.
Djokovic dominated in every department against No.28 seed Cobolli, who'd required three long sets to edge past Matteo Berrettini the previous night. The Serbian secured multiple service breaks in each set and comprehensively seized momentum as he ran away the last five games of the match.
"I think I was really solid from back of the court, always trying to look to dictate the play. All in all, a great two sets," he said.
It creates a positive state of mind as Djokovic targets the fifth Rolex Shanghai Masters that would also deliver his milestone100th career title. "I'm feeling good. I think the advantage of not playing many tournaments is that you're fresh. So, I don't mind playing long matches every single day, whatever it takes," the No.4 seed noted.
Djokovic wasn't the only man to show he's potentially warming up to bigger things at Asia's only ATP Masters1000-level tournament this year.
Alexander Zverev was thoroughly tested against Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, with the No.2 seed completing a 7-6(6) 2-6 7-6(6) win after two hours and 48 minutes.
"It was a tough match going back and forth. I thought he was a bit lucky in the third set and I got very lucky in the tiebreak," said Zverev of the fine margins in victory over the world No.40 Griekspoor, which saw him complete his progress to the round of 16 at every ATP Masters 1000 tournament this year.
"Incredible match. He's an incredible player (and) someone that I've always struggled against. We always have extremely tough matches".
Earlier, Taylor Fritz achieved his best performance Shanghai with his second straight-sets victory for 2024, with his latest win coming against Yosuke Watanuki.
The seventh-seeded American was near-flawless as he completed his 6-3 6-4 victory over the Japanese wildcard with a 10th ace. It was one of 23 winners in total against 10 errors for Fritz, who also faced a tough challenge from Watanuki in 2023.
"He didn't give me a lot of time to make unforced errors because he would just basically go for a winner the first or second ball every rally," said Fritz. "I expected that, because he did that to me last year … I was really ready for that this year."
Fellow American Ben Shelton, a quarterfinalist on his debut at the tournament last year, continued his impressive progress in the city as the No.14 seed defeated Roberto Carballes Baena 6-3 6-4.
It was a tougher afternoon for their 13th-seeded countryman Frances Tiafoe, who fell to Roman Safiullin in three hard-fought sets. The resurgent David Goffin thwarted progress for another American, Marcus Giron, with the 66th-ranked Belgian securing a stunning 1-6 6-3 7-5 win.
Stefanos Tsitsipas is yet to drop a set in two 2024 matches in Shanghai, adding a 6-3 7-5 victory over Alexandre Muller to success over Kei Nishikori in his opening round. While the Greek failed to serve out the third-round encounter on his first opportunity, the No.10 seed quickly recovered as he broke Muller's final service game to love.
"I was able to play well during the entire match. I guess it brought a bit of frustration," said Tstisipas of surrendering his only service break of the match.
"Regardless of that, I continued. I know that I've been faced with moments like this before, and my, let's say, biggest asset has been removing those negative thoughts, and getting back into the match, and making things work again
Youth prevailed with victories for Holger Rune and Jakub Mensik. The 12th-seeded Dane, still just 21 years old, added to his strong start to the tournament with progress over Jiri Lehecka. The 19-year-old Mensik edged out Alexander Shevchenko in his third three-set victory of the tournament.
"I'm very happy, because those performances that I'm playing right now, I feel like I'm in a good form," said the teenager, who next faces No.9 seed Grigor Dimitrov. "I feel very confident, so really looking forward to next match."
Mensik was joined in the fourth round by countryman Tomas Machac, a straight-sets winner over Australia's Aleksandar Vukic.
Meanwhile, some veteran favourites are thriving in Shanghai. Dimitrov avenged his Montreal loss to Alexei Popyrin, the 33-year-old old showing the best of his trademark style in a 7-6(5). 6-2 victory in their latest match.
"I was just very happy that I was able to play a good match, that's all," said Dimitrov, who set a meeting with Mensik. "I didn't really want to expect too much of my game, but all I knew was that if I did the right things, if I was serving well, returning well, and using every opportunity I had, it was enough, it was plenty."
Gael Monfis, at age 38, became the second-oldest man (after Roger Federer in 2019) to progress to the fourth round in tournament history, as he edged out countryman Ugo Humbert in three hard-fought sets.
"I'm not really thinking about that. I try and give my best. If I have an opportunity, try to take them," said the Frenchman, who faces Carlos Alcaraz next.
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