Novak Djokovic kicks off his Shanghai Masters tournament on Friday, October 3 with a remarkable victory.
The four-time champion defeated Marin Cilic in the second round with a 7-6, 6-4 win in a game which lasted one hour 54 minutes.
Djokovic began his quest for a record fifth Shanghai Masters title by using sawdust on his hands to improve grip as the humidity was making it difficult for him to hold racket at the start of the match.
The first set, which lasted 67 minutes was closely contested with Cilic earning the first chance to break serve at 5-5.
Djokovic struggled to challenge Cilic's serves and Cilic won 11 consecutive points on his serve to push the set into tie break.
Afterwards, Cilic struggled during the tiebreak and Djokovic took full advantage and won the long first set.
Early in the second set, Djokovic showed signs of discomfort but he quickly improved his performance and eventually won the match.
After winning the match, the 38-year-old shared, “I struggled to find my rhythm from the baseline. “I [lacked] some matches — my last one was at the US Open — so I got a really tough opener against Marin, who when is feeling the ball, is so dangerous and can beat anybody," as per ATP.
The player further added, "He didn’t give me time to breathe, so I think I dug myself out of trouble with good serving, which obviously makes me happy.”
Djokovic is now scheduled to play against Germany's Yannick Hanfmann on Sunday, October 5.
