Don't Miss

ENG

Cricket
Football
NDTV Podcast
Formula 1
Tennis
Golf
Badminton
- Kabaddi
- Boxing
- Athletics
- Chess
- Swimming
- Shooting
- Wrestling
- Table tennis
- Othersports
- NFL
- NBA
- NHL
- US Streamers
- MMA
- WWE

Dark / Light mode

Oct 10,2026 08:04 AM IST

Novak Djokovic cautious on quick return to top spot

facebook

twitter

Settings

Change Font Size

A A
Change Language

हिंदी | Hindi
Focus on Story

Select Language

Languages
हिंदी | Hindi

Dark / Light mode

Featured Links
Featured Sports
- Cricket
- Football
- Formula 1
- Tennis
- Hockey
- Golf
- Badminton
More Sports
- Kabaddi
- Boxing
- Athletics
- Chess
- Swimming
- Shooting
- Wrestling
- Table tennis
- Othersports
More from NDTV
- NDTV
- Business
- Hindi
- Movies
- Cricket
- Health
- Food
- Tech
- Auto
- Apps
- Trains

Tennis

News
Features
Blogs
Photos
Videos
Players
Grand Slams

arrow-down reddit snapchat twitter facebook comments email printer search bell top-nav reddit-fill snapchat-fill twitter-fill facebook-fill share whatsapp-fill bookmark arrow-rgt arrow-next arrow-up refresh close link cog star book zap cricket football tennis formula-1 badminton hockey golf boxing ndtv-n check left-arrow right-arrow

Live Cricket Matches

Cricket Matches
Football Matches
All Matches

India Matches

IPL 2026

Football Matches

Cricket Matches
Football Matches
All Matches

ISL

EPL

All Matches

Cricket Matches
Football Matches
All Matches

India Matches

EPL

1st Test, Australia in South Africa, 3 Test Series, 2026 at Durban, Oct 9, 2026

Day 1 Stumps

notify

South Africa

Yet To Bat

Australia

187/6 (65.2)

Australia elected to bat

CRR: 2.87
One-off Test, Afghanistan and Bangladesh in UAE, One-off Test, 2026 at Abu Dhabi, Oct 9, 2026

Day 1 Stumps

notify

Afghanistan

Yet To Bat

Bangladesh

317/8 (84.0)

Bangladesh elected to bat

CRR: 3.77
English Premier League, 2026/27

Match 51 , at London, Oct 10, 2026

Arsenal

Leeds United AFC

Sat, Oct 10, 2026 - 5:00 PM IST
Indian Super League, 2026-27

Match 1 , at Bengaluru, Oct 10, 2026

Bengaluru FC

Sporting Club Delhi

Sat, Oct 10, 2026 - 5:00 PM IST
English Premier League, 2026/27

Match 52 , at Birmingham, Oct 10, 2026

Aston Villa

Brentford

Sat, Oct 10, 2026 - 7:30 PM IST
Match 132, ICC CWC League 2, 2023-27 at Dallas, Oct 9, 2026

Namibia

135/2 (26.0)

United Arab Emirates

134 (37.3)

Namibia beat United Arab Emirates by 8 wickets
2nd T20I, West Indies in India, 5 T20I Series, 2026 at Ranchi, Oct 9, 2026

India

249/5 (20.0)

West Indies

252/4 (18.3)

West Indies beat India by 6 wickets
1st T20I, Sri Lanka in Pakistan, 3 T20I Series, 2026 at Rawalpindi, Oct 9, 2026

Pakistan

187/6 (18.5)

Sri Lanka

182/8 (20.0)

Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 4 wickets

Sports Home Tennis News Novak Djokovic cautious on quick return to top spot

Story ProgressBack to home

Novak Djokovic cautious on quick return to top spot

Novak Djokovic played down his chances of making a quick return to world number one despite an emphatic victory in Beijing which gave him a shot at supplanting Roger Federer at this week's Shanghai Masters.

Written by Agence-France Presse
Updated: October 08, 2012 01:27 pm IST

Read Time: 3 min

Beijing:

Novak Djokovic played down his chances of making a quick return to world number one despite an emphatic victory in Beijing which gave him a shot at supplanting Roger Federer at this week's Shanghai Masters.

The Serb, second in the rankings and breathing down Federer's neck, whipped France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 for his third title at the China Open, an event at which he has never been beaten.

Afterwards Djokovic admitted retaking the top ranking, which he occupied for nearly a year until being deposed by Federer in June, was uppermost in his thoughts.

"That's the target," said the 25-year-old, owner of five Grand Slam titles including this year's Australian Open, who celebrated his win with a "Gangnam Style" dance with ball boys and ball girls on court.

Victory in Sunday's Shanghai Masters final would be enough to re-crown Djokovic as number one, if Federer fails to reach the quarter-finals.

But the Serb remained cautious, insisting the rankings battle remains "quite open". Federer was not in action this week.

"This (win) will definitely help me in that race, but it's still quite open," Djokovic said.

"There are still tournaments to come, big ones. Shanghai, obviously the first 1000 event (this week), everybody is playing there except (Rafael) Nadal.

"I want to try to get as far as I can in the tournament, obviously taking one match at a time as I always do."

Sunday's win, Djokovic's fourth title of the year, earned him $530,570 and 500 rankings points, and stretched his record to 14-0 at the China Open -- which he won in 2009 and 2010 but missed last year because of injury.

Not surprisingly, he said he would be back next year.

"I am planning to come back to the China Open next year, Djokovic said after his triumph.

"It's been one of my most successful tournaments. This is where I love to play. I love the conditions and I have lots of support from the fans who are very loyal and very nice."

Djokovic opened with a three-set win against German qualifier Michael Berrer in the first round, and followed it with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Carlos Berlocq of Argentina.

In the third round, the Serb dispatched Austria's Jurgen Melzer 6-1, 6-2, and he then beat Florian Mayer of Germany 6-1, 6-4 to reach the final.

Following his victory over Tsonga, Djokovic delighted the crowd with a rendition of the famed horse-riding dance from South Korean pop hit "Gangnam Style".

And fans may be in for another treat this week if Djokovic follows up his Beijing exploits with another victory.

"The song is quite catchy, so I might do it again in Shanghai. It depends," he said.

In Shanghai, Djokovic has Tsonga, Tomas Berdych and Janko Tipsarevic in his side of the draw, with Federer and Andy Murray the main threats in the other half.