Novak Djokovic is a record four-time champion in Shanghai [Getty Images]
Novak Djokovic continued his quest for a 100th career title by dismantling young Italian Flavio Cobolli to reach the round of 16 at the Shanghai Masters.
The 37-year-old Serbian was lively and clinical in a 6-1 6-2 victory, which lasted just over an hour.
Cobolli, who grew up idolizing the 24-time Grand Slam champion, couldn’t cope with Djokovic’s ability to anticipate rallies and rarely missed a comeback.
In addition to his unerring precision with clean groundstrokes from the baseline, Djokovic’s high level allowed him to concede only seven points on serve.
The world number four will then face Russian Roman Safiullin for a place in the quarter-finals.
Djokovic is aiming to become the third man – after Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) – to achieve a century of tournament victories.
Making his first return to Shanghai since 2019, Djokovic admitted that the prospect of winning a historic title gave him “extra motivation” in the ATP 1,000 event.
Djokovic has scaled back his schedule by prioritizing bigger events and this year played his second-fewest number of matches in a single season since 2005.
The way he dominated Cobolli, 22, ranked 30th in the world after an impressive season, was a reminder of the threat he poses.
“I was pretty sharp,” Djokovic said.
“From the start I had a clear game plan on what I needed to do, stay aggressive and use every short ball to take the initiative on the point. I did it.
“I am very happy with the performance.”
Tiafoe faces heavy fine after insulting referee
Moments after Djokovic claimed victory, Safiullin served to win a final set tiebreak against 13th-seeded American Frances Tiafoe.
Tiafoe, 26, reacted angrily towards chair umpire Jimmy Pinoargote after losing 5-7 7-5 7-6 (7-5), hurling a barrage of expletives in the Ecuadorian official’s direction.
Tiafoe could be fined up to $60,000 (£46,000) for the outburst, classified as a verbal abuse offense under ATP rules.
The incident could escalate if tournament officials deem it “egregious and particularly detrimental to the success of a tournament, or singularly egregious.”
If Tiafoe’s actions are deemed an “aggravated conduct offence” or “conduct contrary to the integrity of the game”, the two-time US Open semi-finalist could lose his prize money.
Tiafoe’s outburst came after a defeat that resulted in the American’s time violation at 5-5 in the tiebreak.
He claimed he threw the ball to serve, but Pinoargote disagreed that it was a legitimate throw intended to start the point and penalized him.
Forced to start with a second serve, Tiafoe lost the point after a thrilling all-court rally for 6-5 against Safiullin, who clinched victory at the first attempt.
Meanwhile, seventh-seeded American Taylor Fritz, ninth-seeded Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov and 10th-seeded Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas were among the other winners on Tuesday.
Tsitsipas beat Frenchman Alexandre Muller to set up a fourth-round meeting with Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev, reigniting a rivalry that has caused drama in the past.
