Novak Djokovic has risen from the dead this year and sealed 2018 as the ultimate comeback. With another big win, he’ll jump to the top of the ATP rankings.
If 2018 started out terrible for Novak Djokovic—lacking confidence, going out in early rounds, and undergoing elbow surgery—the Serb has flipped the script to culminate the year as his ultimate comeback. But it wasn’t easy, it never was, as the 31 year-old father of two looked on in disbelief after beating 21-year-old Borna Coric in the Shanghai Masters 1000 final on Sunday, 6-3, 6-4.
But no hard feelings, he even took time to help out his opponent with his Chinese.
Always there to lend a helping hand, even when it comes to Chinese lessons 😉
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 14, 2018
Nice moment after the match between @DjokerNole and @borna_coric.#RolexSHMasters pic.twitter.com/PKIm62KAfH
After all, he’s won the tournament now a record four times. No wonder he blessed an ancient Chinese tree beforehand.
https://twitter.com/DjokerNole/status/1049540414988906496
Not only did Djokovic win in tennis, but also in language.
Borna’s face after Novak speaks fluent chinese 😮 @borna_coric @DjokerNole pic.twitter.com/aHJHRzc4ji
— Silvana Sifuentes Cock (@silvanasifco) October 14, 2018
Road back to victory
“I’ve got a theory that if you give 100% all the time, somehow, things will work out in the end,” Larry Bird once said.
Things looked pretty bleak for Djokovic when he went out in his first matches at the Indian Wells and Miami Masters tournaments. Since that time, Djokovic has the most grand slams this year—with Wimbledon and the U.S. Open adding to his 14 trophy haul—and his second Masters title after Cincinnati this summer.
“I had to reinvent myself and find, you know, [a] proper formula for success,” said the 14-time slam champ after the Shanghai win. “I found it and I’m just trying to hold on to it as long as I can.”
The Serb was the first ATP player to win all nine Masters tournaments when he beat Roger Federer in the Western and Southern Open over the summer. The achievement in Shanghai puts him one win away from equaling Rafael Nadal’s Masters record of 33 titles. If Djokovic wins the Paris Masters event, he’ll accomplish this feet.
He looks all but unstoppable going forward, hoping to extend his phenomenal 18 straight-match winning streak. In Shanghai, his serve remained unbroken.
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Road to world No. 1
More importantly, another win will place the 31 year-old at the top of the rankings, a remarkable journey from dropping out of the Top 20 just last May. Once the rankings come out on Monday, he will already overtake Federer as the new world No. 2.
“I think you’re seeing the new Novak,” said the Shanghai champion according to MSN.
Next up for the legend is the Paris event, although Djokovic says he may add a few of the smaller tournaments, such as Vienna, beforehand.
By the time the ATP World Tour Finals rolls around in November, it’s very likely that Novak Djokovic will be going into the event he’s won five times (including when it was the Tennis Masters Cup) as the new world No. 1.