Novak Djokovic's 69 words after his shock defeat as injury concerns louden

Novak Djokovic has refused to comment on his physical state after limping out in the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters.

The Serb fell to world No 204 Valentin Vacherot 6-3, 6-4 in the last four of the penultimate Masters 1000 of 2025, unable to effectively counter the Monegasque’s firepower.

Djokovic had willed his way through the field en route to the last four clash, prevailing over Marin Cilic, Yannick Hanfmann, Jaume Munar, and Zizou Bergs.

However, despite being the overwhelming favourite for the clash, the 24-time Grand Slam champion’s movement looked to be compromised, also being spotted wearing support taping on his hamstring.

Djokovic has won just one title in 2025 – at the ATP 250 event in Geneva – and has failed to lift a title at Masters-1000 level since the 2023 Paris Masters.

The last 24 months have marked a significant decline in Djokovic’s positive results and physical state.

In 2024, he won his sole Olympic gold medal against Carlos Alcaraz on the Parisian clay, producing a stunning performance to seal an impeccable tournament.

Additionally, he reached the showpiece match at Wimbledon that same year, but fell to the Spaniard in straight sets.

Just a few weeks prior, he had torn his meniscus at the French Open, forcing him to withdraw from the quarter-final stage and, a few months later, lost in the third round at the US Open – capping off his first year without a Grand Slam since 2017.

This season, Djokovic has reached the semi-finals at all four Grand Slams, but was unable to win a set in any of the four clashes, including a retirement against Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open.

More recently, the Serb slipped at Wimbledon prior to his last four meeting with Jannik Sinner, an incident with further hindered his chances against the Italian – with Djokovic blaming the discomfort on age-related ‘wear-and-tear.’

His schedule for the rest of the season remains somewhat unclear, with the upcoming Six Kings Slam exhibition and the ATP 250 event in Greece being the only events to which he has firmly committed.

At the moment, Djokovic is also ranked third in the Live ATP Race to Turin, being just 120 points from securing his place at the Nitto ATP Finals – should he wish to participate.

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Here is everything that the former world No 1 stated during his short post-match press conference.

Q: How do you feel after this match, how much did you risk to continue, and can I just ask you maybe next week you will just rest or you think to go to Arabia?

Djokovic: “I want to congratulate Valentin for reaching his first Masters final. Going from qualifications, it’s an amazing story.

“I told him at the net that he’s had an amazing tournament, but more so his attitude is very good, and his game was amazing as well.

“So it’s all about him. I wish him all the best in the finals, and the better player won today.”

Q: Can you talk about your physical condition?

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