Serbia's Novak Djokovic returns to Italian Jannik Sinner during the men's last person match of the Shanghai Masters tennis tournament in Shanghai on October 13, 2024. (Photo by HECTOR RETAMAL / AFP)
Novak Djokovic insisted on Sunday that he plans to “compete and play next season” despite suffering another defeat at the hands of world number one Jannik Sinner.
The 37-year-old Serbian, holder of a men's record of 24 Grand Slam titles, fell 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 to the Italian in the final of the Shanghai Masters.
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It was Djokovic's third loss in his last four meetings against the Australian Open and US Open champion.
READ: The last of the 'Big Four', Novak Djokovic continues fighting
However, Djokovic said he has no intention of following his career rival Rafael Nadal into retirement despite suffering, by his own admission, “one of the worst performing seasons in terms of results.”
“I don't know what the future holds, I'll just try to go with the flow to see how I feel at any given time, but I still plan to compete and play next season,” he told reporters.
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Djokovic failed to add to his Grand Slam haul in 2024 as Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who won the French Open and Wimbledon titles, took over the sport's top honours.
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However, Djokovic was crowned Olympic champion, winning an emotional final against Alcaraz in Paris in August. That was the 99th title of his career.
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Sunday's defeat left him frustratingly short of becoming just the third man after Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer to win 100 titles.
READ: Novak Djokovic admits to playing the 'worst tennis of all time' after his shock exit from the US Open
“For me it is not a life or death goal, I think I have achieved all my most important goals in my career,” he said.
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“Right now it's really about Slams and continuing to see how far I can go further on my own.”
Djokovic praised Sinner, who at 23 is 14 years his junior. His title in Shanghai was his seventh of the year.
“He's very solid on the forehand and backhand, he doesn't make too many mistakes and just tries to take time away from the opponent,” Djokovic said.
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“That's something that reminds me of myself throughout my career, that's what I've done for so many years consistently, playing fast-paced tennis, taking time away from the opponent, suffocating them in a certain way.”
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