Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic said Tuesday that he feels the pressure to do well in the Shanghai 1000 Masters to prevent Spaniard Rafa Nadal from snatching him number one for the rest of the season on the indoor track. "Although I have been in this position many times before, Rafa has had an incredible year so far and I have to do well here to have a chance to face him in the indoor track season," the tennis player said at a press conference.

For the second consecutive year Nadal has not traveled to China due to physical problems and, since Djokovic won the tournament in Shanghai last year, he only defends points and needs to remain in the same position so as not to lose them.

The Serb will debut in Shanghai on Wednesday against Canadian Denis Shapovalov , number 36 in the world. Five weeks ago the world number one had to leave the US Open in the round of 16 due to a left shoulder injury that kept him several weeks away from the tracks.

Although it was doubtful for the Asian tour, the Serbian finally recovered and last Sunday he won the first time in his Tokyo Open race, winning the title without giving up a single set throughout the tournament, getting his seventy-sixth trophy and his Victory number 46 of the year, two less than Nadal.

"I am delighted to play well again. For me being healthy is important because I retired from the US Open and it was difficult to swallow. After that I thought I was not going to play the Asian tour but the shoulder has reacted very well to the rehabilitation process , and I played really well in Japan, "said the tennis player.

Still, 'Nole' added that he still needs "a couple more weeks to recover one hundred percent and not be worried" because, although he feels no pain, he still plays cautiously.

Djokovic decided to play Tokyo and not Beijing, as on other occasions, to learn about the facilities that will host the tennis test of the Olympic Games next year. "The Olympic tournament will be played on the same courts, so it was a great opportunity for me to verify the conditions and understand the same surface," he explained.

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  • Rafael Nadal
  • Novak Djokovic
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