SHANGHAI — Novak Djokovic insisted that he plans “to compete and play next season” despite suffering another loss at the hands of world number one Jannik Sinner.
Sinner added his seventh title of a remarkable year with victory over Djokovic in the final of the Shanghai Masters.
Djokovic will take plenty of positives from his performance at Shanghai despite his defeat by Sinner, as the Serb rediscovered his form after a disappointing US Open campaign.
However, Djokovic said he has no intention of following career-long rival Rafael Nadal into retirement even though he endured by his own admission “one of the worst-performing seasons in terms of results”.
“I don’t know what the future brings, I’ll just try to kind of go with the flow to see how I feel in a given moment, but I still plan to compete and play next season,” he told reporters.
“It’s not a live-or-die type of goal for me, I think I’ve achieved all of my biggest goals in my career,” he added according to AFP.
“Right now it’s really about Slams and about still seeing how far I can kind of push the bar for myself.”
Djokovic, a 24-times Grand Slam champion, won his first Olympic gold medal at the Paris Games in August, but then suffered a third-round defeat at Flushing Meadows to Alexei Popyrin.
However, Djokovic looked in fine nick in Shanghai, playing with consistency throughout the tournament to reach his fifth final at the ATP Masters 1000 event, where he was beaten 7-6(4) 6-3 by world number one Sinner.
“I think there’s quite a few positives that I can take. I think the level of my tennis was really good this tournament, probably best after the Olympics in terms of how I played, how I performed, how I fought,” Djokovic said according to Reuters.
“I did my best. Under the circumstances, I felt maybe not a 100 per cent fresh, but big credit to Jannik for playing the big points better than me, and that’s what made the difference. He deserved to win; he was just too strong in important moments.
“I still think that in the final I played pretty good, which gives me reason to believe that I can still play with these guys that are the best in the world. Hopefully I can maintain that level in the upcoming months, and also for the future.”
Djokovic’s defeat to Sinner also dashed his bid to add a 100th singles title to his trophy cabinet, which would have seen him become only the third man to achieve the feat after Jimmy Connors (109) and rival Roger Federer (103).
The 37-year-old played down the significance of that particular milestone, adding: “That’s a bonus, if that can happen. I definitely wished for it to happen, but it wasn’t meant to be.
“I’ve got to keep striving to make it happen somewhere in the near future, hopefully. It’s not a live-or-die type of goal for me.
“I think I’ve achieved all of my biggest goals in career. Right now it’s really about Grand Slams and about seeing how far I can kind of push the bar for myself.”
Djokovic is next in action in the Oct. 16-19 ‘Six Kings Slam’, a tennis exhibition in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia which will also feature Sinner, Rafa Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune.
In front of a packed crowd at the Qi Zhong Stadium, 23-year-old Sinner came out on top in a tiebreak in an enthralling opening set, before taking the one-sided second set to become the youngest-ever champion in Shanghai.
Sinner became the first man to win more than six titles in a season since Andy Murray won nine in 2016. He also pulled level in his career record against Djokovic, now at four wins apiece.
“It was a very tough match, obviously, playing against Novak is one of the toughest challenges we have,” Sinner said according to AP.
“It´s tough to tell you a secret about (Djokovic) because he doesn´t have any weaknesses.
“You have to try and use the small chances that he gives you, but there are not many during the match. He is a legend of our sport, he´s very tough to play against, so I am very happy.”
The victory for Sinner came after he lost the final of the China Open in Beijing to Carlos Alcaraz and amid an ongoing doping case.
The 23-year-old Sinner is now 8-2 against top-5 opponents on hard courts this year, with both losses coming against Alcaraz, who watched the final from the stands.
US Open and Australian Open champion Sinner, who levelled his head-to-head record against Djokovic at 4-4, has won seven ATP titles this year and ensured the year-end number one ranking earlier this week.
Sinner has won his last three matches against Djokovic and became the first player to have not faced a single breakpoint in back-to-back matches against the 37-year-old.
Asked if he had found the key to unlocking Djokovic’s game, Sinner said: “It’s tough to tell you a secret because he doesn’t have any weaknesses.
