Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic might just have participated in one of the more enthralling matches of the year yesterday, with the legendary veteran rolling back the years to reach the China Open semi-finals.
It’s astounding what he continues to accomplish despite his age, and this win might just be one of his most impressive considering all he has dealt with throughout 2026.
Djokovic has alluded to dealing with a health issue which has held him back and contributed to some shock early exits in recent months.
Even this week, in Beijing, the Serbian had stuttered through his opening two rounds; few gave him a chance against arguably the most in-form player on the planet right now.
But this is a player who can never be written off, even if his form may be unpredictable. Novak Djokovic’s fuel can come from anywhere, and yesterday, he had a few sources to pluck from.
Alexander Zverev’s best-of-five-set comments take aim at Novak Djokovic
The first actually came before the match even started, with Alexander Zverev giving his opinion on best-of-five-set tennis and whether it should remain.
This has been a key flashpoint amongst the tennis community of late, with most top players offering their opinion.
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Carlos Alcaraz has defended the format, whilst others admitted they’d be content if it were scrapped.
Zverev sided with the Spaniard, and actually took aim at Djokovic, who had proposed the shortening of matches earlier this year. He said: “I kind of don’t agree with it because I think the sport of tennis is growing. I don’t know a single player who would like to play best-of-three sets. Yes, maybe Novak wants to play best-of-three because, of course, he’s getting a bit older now.
“I think if you would have asked him this 10 years ago or 15 years ago, for sure not. It’s history. It’s the toughest thing to win in our sport because we play best-of-five sets.
“It’s physically one of the most extreme things that you can go through. And no, I don’t support it, just to clarify.”
It’s fair to say that these comments have now backfired, with Zverev not even able to defeat the 39-year-old in this best-of-three format, let alone best-of-five. Djokovic’s argument with the umpire early in their match will only have added more fuel to what was likely already a raging fire within him.
Interestingly, the German has now lost his last two matches against the 24-time Grand Slam champion: yesterday’s best-of-three encounter and last year’s best-of-five showdown at Roland Garros.
