Novak Djokovic outlasts Jaume Munar after Shanghai Masters hiccup

Novak Djokovic edged into the Rolex Shanghai Masters quarterfinals on Tuesday, edging past Jaume Munar, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.

🖥️📲The Match in 15 Minutes: Novak Djokovic def. Jaume Munar, Shanghai 4R

Djokovic is now three wins away from winning his first hard-court title in two years (2023 ATP Finals), and shrugged off a second-set hiccup to become the oldest Masters 1000 quarterfinalist in history (38 years, four months) and dispatch the unseeded Spaniard in two hours and 41 minutes on Stadium Court.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion is playing his first tournament since losing in a fourth consecutive major semifinal at the US Open. Seeded fourth, Djokovic is the highest ranked man left in the draw after a withdrawal from top seed Carlos Alcaraz and early exits from both Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev.

Still, the 38-year-old has been made to battle through brutal conditions in Shanghai, needing a first-set tiebreaker to defeat 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic and three sets to knock out German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann.

Djokovic looked poised for a more decisive day at the office against Munar, who he beat in straight sets in their only previous meeting (2018 Roland Garros), but the world No. 41 turned the tables in the second set. Looking to reach his first-ever Masters 1000 quarterfinal, Munar scored the crucial service break in the 12th game to force a decider.

On course to play a second three-setter in a row, Djokovic broke back to open the third, claiming an insurance break to give him two chances to serve for the match. The four-time Shanghai champion only needed one, serving out his spot in the last eight in just under three hours.

Waiting for him there is Belgium’s Zizou Bergs, a 26-year-old in the midst of a career-best Masters run. Bergs joined Djokovic in the quarterfinals by winning a nail-biter third-set tiebreaker over No. 31 seed Gabriel Diallo, backing up wins over Sebastian Korda, No. 11 seed Casper Ruud, and No. 19 seed Francisco Cerundolo. Djokovic and Bergs will be facing off for the first time.