By Richard Pagliaro Thursday, October 9, 2025
Photo credit: Zhang Lintao/Getty
Faced with age, stifling conditions and a knockout in his final fight, he persevered. Novak Djokovic Shanghai is still vibrant and thriving.
The 38-year-old Serbian superstar fended off a fierce challenge from Italy Zidane Burgers 6-3, 7-5, advancing to his record-breaking 80th Masters 1000 semifinal at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.
Djokovic, who was sweating profusely, broke serve twice in a row, then won the third match point and reached the Shanghai semifinals for the tenth time.
Djokovic overcame all physical challenges, vomiting twice on the court earlier in the match and collapsing on the court after the second set of his fourth-round win over Jaume Munar.
Djokovic showed tenacity and tactical acumen against the dangerous Burgess today, who told the Grand Slam “I adore you” as they shook hands warmly at the net.
Perfect 10🤩
There is a great deal of respect between these competitors @DjokerNole Defeated Burges 6-3 7-5 and advanced to the Shanghai semifinals for the tenth time🙌#rolexshanghaimasters pic.twitter.com/3vLuH1Zvzz
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 9, 2025
“[It has taken] “Almost everything,” Djokovic said of his battle to reach the semifinals. “Honestly, just trying to stay active on the court.”
“First time meeting Bergs – great guy – obviously he’s got a lot of fire in the game. Sometimes, I just try to get one more ball down the field and, you know, make him miss. That’s what happened.
“I should have finished 5-4, he played well. I was a little too passive. It’s very challenging conditions for all players. I just wanted to stay active on the court. It’s nice to overcome that obstacle.”
Continuing his pursuit of 101st career title, Djokovic faces Cinderella story in 2017 World Ranking 204 Valentin Vaccello Compete for a spot in the finals.
Qualifier Vaccello made history by reaching the Masters 1000 semi-finals for Monaco, defeating No. 11 Holger Ruhn 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-4 for the biggest win of his life and a huge upset that propelled him into the top 100.
“It’s great for Monaco tennis. We have one of the biggest tournaments on tour in Monaco,” Djokovic said. “I’m really happy for him and his coach Benjamin, who I’ve known for many years. I trained with him in Monaco for the past 15 years.
“It’s an amazing story for him, this match, he beat the best players in the world. It’s really impressive what he did. We’re all going to have a day off and hopefully we can do well in the semi-finals.”
The Grand Slam king made a backhand error and missed a smash, breaking serve first and leading 4-2 after 26 minutes.
Bergers pushed hard in the seventh game to regain a chance to break serve.
After scoring for a long time, Djokovic struggled to bend down and grab his left foot, but he denied three break points. During a sprint, the Serbian unleashed a running lob that helped him escape break point.
Djokovic showed courage in holding serve for nearly 10 minutes and broke serve at 5-2.
Under three set points, Bergs hit three aces in a row and saved all three set points. Bergers erased two more set points and forced his opponent to serve at 3-5.
Undeterred, Djokovic won the sixth set point by 16 strokes. Djokovic took a set lead after 48 minutes with a wide serve.
The world No. 5 won nine of 10 points on Berg’s second serve and repeatedly caused damage in a physical forehand exchange in the first set.
In the second set, Bergers always stood firm and hit the first ace of the set, locking the score at 4-3.
The four-time champion made his move in the ninth inning. Berg’s double fault gave Djokovic two break points. He only needed one to make the crucial breakthrough. Djokovic’s backhand spin pass was too much for the Belgian to handle and led 5-4.
The 26-year-old Belgian saved two match points to beat Gabriel Diallo in the fourth round, but his achievements weren’t over yet.
The cunning Burgess drew Djokovic with a lob and finished with a high-flying backhand volley for double break point. Burgess attacked on the short serve and hit a backhand return winner for his first break of serve, tying the match at 5.
Djokovic tightened his defense in the next game and earned a break point.
The ambitious Bergers’ forehand went out of bounds diagonally, and Djokovic broke serve for the second consecutive time and led 6-5.
Djokovic saved a break point before hitting a powerful shot down the middle to convert his third match point, ending a tense test that lasted 1 hour and 50 minutes and returning to the semi-finals.
