Djokovic sweats out steamy Shanghai success

Novak Djokovic made a turnaround with a fervent Chinese crowd on his side as the Serb held off qualifier Yannick Hanfmann 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 on Sunday to reach the Shanghai Masters fourth round.

The four-time champion needed two and three-quarter hours in what he called “brutal” conditions to advance over the world No. 150 who put up a huge fight.

With humidity in China’s commercial capital touching 80 per cent, the match was a test for the 38-year-old who ended with 26 winners against 33 for his opponent.

“It was brutal but you have to deal with it,” the Serb said, “It was a challenge for me, I had to weather the storm.

“Yannick played incredible from the beginning, one poor game from me was enough for him to win the first set.

“He was serving so accurately, smacking every ball on his racquet.

Djokovic managed to reverse the momentum in the second set as he constructed the comeback win 

The fourth seed credited Chinese fans with helping him to victory on his first match point as Hanfmann returned wide.

“The crowd got me  up, at the end of the second set I felt I could read his serve and stay in the rallies.

.”All in all it was a great battle, I’m familiar with those over my career. I’ve won plenty of matches when I’m not the best player but I hung in there.

“It’s incredible to play in front of such a passionate crowd. it’s just stunning, I cannot ask for more. This is a dream come true – I’m very thankful.”

Djokovic becomes the oldest man to advance to the round of 16 here and stands 23-0 at the tournament leading to the quarter-final stage.