"There's always something happening with the body" - Novak Djokovic issues alarming injury update at Shanghai Masters ahead of SF

Novak Djokovic has shared a concerning update about his health during the ongoing 2025 Shanghai Masters, admitting that there’s always “something” troubling his body. His remarks came just two days before his semifinal match at the tournament.

Djokovic arrived in Shanghai after taking a short break from tennis following his semifinal loss at the US Open. He began his campaign with a convincing win over Marin Cilic and went on to defeat Yannick Hanfmann, Jaume Munar, and Zizou Bergs to secure a spot in the last four.

The Serb, like many other top players this year, has struggled with the extreme heat in Shanghai. During his match against Munar, he threw up mid-match and battled through leg exhaustion and the high temperatures to secure the win. He also appeared to struggle physically in the opening set of his match against Bergs.

After his quarterfinal win, Novak Djokovic addressed his physical condition during a press conference. He mentioned that his leg was feeling much better, but he was dealing with other issues that he was currently trying to manage.

"My leg was good," he said. "There's always something happening with the body pretty much every match that I play right now. There's some other issues that I'm trying to address day by day, and hopefully it's going to get better as the tournament progresses."

However, the 24-time Grand Slam champion assured that he would use the one day off before his semifinal match to recover as best as he could and return stronger:

"I have a day off to my semifinal, so that's really good. Yeah, I'm going to come back with, of course, the right attitude and intention to win."

Novak Djokovic overcame Zizou Bergs 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday, October 9. With this victory, the 38-year-old Serbian became the oldest player to reach the semifinals in Masters 1000 history.

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Novak Djokovic to face Valentin Vacherot in Shanghai Masters SF

Novak Djokovic pictured at the 2025 Shanghai Masters | Image Source: Getty

Novak Djokovic is set to face Valentin Vacherot in the semifinals of the 2025 Shanghai Masters. Vacherot comes into the match on the back of impressive wins over 14th seed Alexander Bublik, 20th seed Tomas Machac, 10th seed Holger Rune, and others.

For those unfamiliar, Vacherot is a 26-year-old player from Monaco, currently ranked World No. 204. Since this will be Djokovic’s first meeting with Vacherot, he was asked during a press conference about his approach to the match, to which he replied:

"He kind of plays quite similar to Rinderknech, you know. And I see that they're quite close. The serve particularly reminds me of Arthur as well. So it's great to see that chemistry between them, that they're supporting each other. Arthur was there the whole match."

"Yeah, historic success for him and, yeah, I'm looking forward to play him. Hopefully I can get a win," he added.

If the Serb manages to defeat Vacherot, he will face either Daniil Medvedev, Alex de Minaur, Felix Auger-Aliassime, or Arthur Rinderknech in the final. He is now just two wins away from a record-extending 41st Masters 1000 title, making this his best chance yet.