Novak Djokovic improved to 20-2 lifetime against Marin Cilic with a 7-6(2), 6-4 victory in the Rolex Shanghai Masters second round on Friday. Djokovic withstood some heavy hitting by Cilic–20 winners in the first set alone for the Croat–to prevail in one hour and 55 minutes.
“I struggled to find my rhythm from the baseline,” the former world No. 1 assessed. “I [lacked] some matches–my last one was at the U.S. Open. I got a really tough opener against Marin, who–when is feeling the ball–is so dangerous and can beat anybody. 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.”
This marked the first meeting between Djokovic and Cilic since the 2022 Tel Aviv final. It was the oldest matchup in Masters 1000 history (Djokovic is 38, Cilic is 37).
“(I have) tons of respect for Marin (and) all he has achieved and who he is as a person,” the 24-time Grand Slam champion said of Cilic. “We get along very well off the court; we’ve known each other for many years. The last time we played was three years ago, so it’s great to see him back playing at this level.”
Djokovic will go up against Yannick Hanfmann on Sunday after the German knocked off Frances Tiafoe in three sets.
nice one, Djoker