Novak Djokovic reveals ‘extra motivation’ ahead of Shanghai return as he drops retirement plans hint

Novak Djokovic reveals ‘extra motivation’ ahead of Shanghai return as he drops retirement plans hint

Novak Djokovic talks to the media during a press conference

Novak Djokovic has expressed that his love for tennis will “never fade away” as he revealed he expects to remain involved in the sport “in different roles” after he retires.

The 24-time major champion also divulged that he will use the chance to win his 100th ATP title as an extra source of motivation at the Shanghai Masters.

Shanghai is Djokovic’s first tournament appearance since the 2024 US Open, where he suffered a surprise third round loss to Alexei Popyrin.

The 37-year-old Serbian dismantled world No 773 Ioannis Xilas of Greece 6-0, 6-1 in a Davis Cup contest last month in his only match since the US Open.

Djokovic has won a record four titles in Shanghai since the inception of the Masters 1000 tournament in 2009, while he also won his maiden ATP Finals title in Shanghai in 2008. In addition, Djokovic has secured a record six trophies at the China Open in Beijing.

The tennis legend has not played in China since the 2019 Shanghai Masters, with the Asian swing having been cancelled in 2020, 2021 and 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

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Djokovic claimed his only ATP singles title of the 2024 season — and 99th overall — at the Paris Olympics in August.

Ahead of his campaign in Shanghai, Djokovic spoke about his success in China and the prospect of reaching a century of titles.

“Well, as I’ve mentioned before, China has been a very successful and happy place for me,” Djokovic said in his press conference. “I’ve had great success on the Chinese soil, both Beijing and Shanghai.

“I haven’t been here five years. I just love playing here, love the conditions, love the support that I get, and I also have an extra motivation of trying to go for my 100th title.

“Yeah, I mean, that’s all I can say at the moment. I’m trying to improve daily on my practice sessions. I play a lot of practice points, games, sets, and get to the desired level, because I haven’t been playing too many tournaments lately, so I have some catching up to do with others.

“Again, hopefully I can use that freshness in a way, and also the past experiences and success I had on this court for good success this year in the tournament as well.”

The world No 4 also gave insight into his potential plans for after his playing career when asked to describe how big his love for tennis remains.

“My love for tennis will never fade away,” Djokovic declared. “I have a lot of emotions when I’m playing, and not particularly only in the tournament, but also practice sessions.

“Sometimes it’s not always going your way, but I think my relationship with tennis goes much deeper than a tournament or a year or success or failure, it’s just, you know, a sport that I fell in love with when I was very young, and I still have the love for the sport.

“Even when I retire from professional tennis, I feel like I’m going to stay in tennis, stay involved in, you know, in different roles, because I feel like I owe this sport a lot for what it has been giving to me.”

Djokovic is the No 4 seed at the Shanghai Masters and he will face either Alex Michelsen or Yunchaokete Bu in his opening match.