Novak Djokovic reached the Shanghai Masters semi-finals for a 10th time on Thursday, October 9.
The Serbian tennis star overcame gruelling conditions to defeat Belgian tennis player Zizou Bergs with a score of 6-3 7-5.
In tough conditions with 35C temperature and 80% humidity on the court, Bergs fought hard in the first set and managed to stop Djokovic from winning five times when he had a chance to take the set.
However, Djokovic, who had dealt with injury and vomiting in the previous round, eventually won the set with a serve that Bergs couldn't hit back.
In the second set, the match became even more exhausting, as both the players served strongly.
At one point, Djokovic appeared physically exhausted and leaned on his racket to catch his breath.
However, the 38-year-old managed to turn the situation around and secured the victory.
After winning the match, the player expressed, "It's very challenging conditions for all the players this week. I'm glad to overcome this hurdle," as per BBC Sports.
Djokovic said of Bergs, “First encounter with Bergs, great guy, obviously a lot of firepower in his game. At times I just tried to play an extra ball in the court and make him miss the ball. That’s what happened."
With this victory, Djokovic also set a new milestone as the oldest player ever to reach the semi-finals of a Masters 1000 tournament.
This also marks the 80th time in his career that he has advanced to the last four in such top-level tournaments.
Djokovic will now face Valentin Vacherot in the semi-finals.
