Jannik Sinner threw everything he had into the battle, but after sweating for two and a half hours inside Shanghai’s stadium sauna, his body surrendered. Even near midnight, the air was thick, suffocating, and merciless. Cramping, gasping, and staggering in pain, Sinner could barely walk through the final 20 minutes against Tallon Griekspoor. That brutal scene echoed across the tournament, Terence Atmane and Hamad Medjedovic both retired under the same punishing heat, while Francisco Comesaña nearly collapsed before Lorenzo Musetti came to his aid. And now, as Novak Djokovic grinds through another Shanghai Masters semis, the defending titan faces a cruel twist of fate as he now suffers a new injury in a grueling Shanghai clash.

Midway through the Shanghai semifinal, Novak Djokovic found himself in sudden distress. At 3-4 in the opening set against Valentin Vacherot, the Serb halted play, calling for a medical timeout as pain surged through his lower back. A physio rushed to court while Djokovic grimaced, struggling to move with his usual command.

The situation grew heavier when Spanish news outlet Punto De Break’s director revealed the grim details: “Djokovic, who was already dealing with issues in his right ankle, left adductor, and the back of his right shoulder, now adds a new physical problem in Shanghai: the upper part of his left glute. [Translated from Spanish]”

This isn’t the first time Novak Djokovic has faced injury troubles at this year’s Shanghai Masters. The Serbian warrior, famed for his resilience, has battled through one physical storm after another. Earlier in the tournament, he collapsed during a brutal encounter with world No. 41 Jaume Munar, undone by the suffocating heat and humidity that turned the court into a furnace.

The scene was alarming. Djokovic slumped to the ground, forearm shielding his eyes, before slowly sitting up and resting his head between his legs. A trainer rushed in, helping the former world No. 1 back to his chair as the crowd watched in uneasy silence.

Even before that moment, the physical toll had been relentless. On Sunday, Djokovic had also vomited courtside during his clash with Yannick Hanfmann, a vivid sign of the tournament’s extreme conditions.

“It’s brutal when you have over 80 per cent of humidity day after day, particularly for the guys when they’re playing during the day with heat, with sun, it’s even more brutal. For me, biologically it’s a bit more challenging to deal with it. But I had to really weather the storm today,” Djokovic admitted after surviving Hanfmann.

Now, with another injury setback against Valentin Vacherot, his Shanghai struggle continues. The season’s scars have deepened, but Djokovic’s defiance remains unbroken, still standing, still fighting, still chasing greatness through the pain.

Novak Djokovic’s battle with injury and illness deepens

Back in January, Novak Djokovic launched into 2025 with fire in his eyes: chasing his 100th ATP title and a historic 25th Grand Slam at the Australian Open. The air buzzed with anticipation; the world braced for Nole to rewrite history.

The first storm hit in Melbourne. In a grueling quarterfinal against Carlos Alcaraz, Djokovic’s body whispered warnings, yet he pushed through, defying pain and expectation alike. Every step screamed of his fight.

By the semifinals, destiny clashed with reality. Facing Alexander Zverev, Djokovic’s battle was real but painfully brief. After dropping the first set 7-6(5), he revealed, “I did everything I possibly can to basically manage the muscle tear that I had.” The agony escalated, merciless and unyielding, forcing him to withdraw and hand the match to Zverev, sparking questions about his physical limits.

Initially sidelined until Roland Garros in June, Djokovic returned prematurely at the Qatar Open in February. The courts, however, were unforgiving; a first-round exit repeated at Indian Wells, shaking hopes and testing resolve.

March brought more torment. A swollen, infected eye at the Miami Open blurred his vision, sapping performance and cutting into Monte-Carlo preparations. Eye drops fought a losing battle against relentless discomfort.

The season’s gauntlet intensified: a lower back injury at the US Open, neck and forearm issues, thigh and hamstring strains, and a painful slip at Wimbledon. Each blow tested the Serbian’s famed resilience, each moment a story of survival.

Now, with the Shanghai Masters pressing his body hard within just a week, the question looms: how much grind can tennis’s iron man endure? Only time will tell.