Novak Djokovic opens Shanghai with historic win over Marin Cilic

Novak Djokovic launched his bid for a record-extending fifth Shanghai Masters crown with a hard-fought victory when he beat Marin Cilic 7-6, 6-4 in what became the oldest ATP Masters 1000 match in history.

With a combined age of 75 years and 139 days, Djokovic and Cilic’s second-round duel set a new benchmark for longevity on the sport’s biggest stage outside the Grand Slams.

The Serb, playing his first match ever since the US Open semifinal loss to World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, was made to work under the lights of the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena. Battling heavy humidity, he resorted to sprinkling sawdust on his hands in a nod to Ivan Lendl’s old-school methods.

Though Cilic struck 20 winners in the opening set alone, the 24-time Grand Slam winner absorbed the pressure with trademark resilience and stole the tiebreak, before securing the crucial break in the second.

“I struggled to find my rhythm from the baseline,” admitted Djokovic. “I [lacked] some matches — my last one was at the US Open — so 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.”

The two-hour contest marked Djokovic’s 20th victory in 22 career meetings with Cilic. Despite briefly appearing to tweak his back early in the second set, Djokovic struck cleanly from both wings and was buoyed by a packed crowd that included No. 10 seed Holger Rune.

“Tonnes of respect for Marin, all he has achieved and who he is as a person,” said Djokovic. “We get along very well off the court, we’ve known each other for some many years. The last time we played was three years ago, so it’s great to see him back playing at this level.”

The victory carried added historical weight for Djokovic as well. By notching his 40th match win in Shanghai, Djokovic became the first man in record 40 or more victories at six different Masters 1000 events since the series’ inception in 1990.

His tally includes Rome (68), Indian Wells (51), Paris (50), Miami (49), Cincinnati (45), and Shanghai (40).