Novak Djokovic may have been on to something when he argued after claiming the Shanghai Masters championship over the weekend that he must have been a native of China in a past life. After all, it was his 11th title in as many appearances on Chinese soil, a record unmatched by any professional, whether local citizen or wai bin, in the history of the sport. “I wouldn’t be surprised, to be honest, with the way I feel here and the way I communicate and have [a] relationship with the people,” he said. “There is something special about this place that makes me feel like at home.”
Indeed, Djokovic has been nothing short of dominant in the Mainland. Apart from his four titles at the Masters, he has another in Shanghai and six more in Beijing over the last 10 years. In the last week, however, he appeared to have been especially sharp; he managed to win all 47 of his service games, never mind his relative lack of power. Clearly, his predilection for precision paid off, with his cause helped immensely by the ouster of top seed Roger Federer in the semifinals.
Significantly, Djokovic moves to second in ATP rankings with his Masters triumph, and he could well catapult to the top by yearend. It’s an astounding feat, to be sure; when July rolled around, he was a mere 21st, a place on the list he hadn’t seen since 2006. And then came his rapid turnaround; fueled by emphatic performances at Wimbledon and the United States Open, he climbed up the chart and now looks to be a safe bet to overtake current World Number One Rafa Nadal when the calendar turns to 2019.
In any case, Djokovic has clearly restarted his quest for more Grand Slam glory. With Federer an old 37, Andy Murray bogged down by injury, and Nadal seemingly unable to beat him in recent memory, he’s primed for success. The best may well be yet to come.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.
