“It’s not stamina. It’s something else. More related to health,” Djokovic told reporters at the China Open.
He will not say what the problem is, only that it has shadowed almost every tournament he has played this year, and that he and his team are still trying to work out what is wrong.
And still he keeps winning. On Sunday, the 39-year-old came from a set down to beat world number one Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a quarterfinal that lasted two hours and 34 minutes, extending his record in Beijing to 32-0 and passing Rafael Nadal’s 31 straight at Roland Garros as the longest unbeaten run at a single ATP event in the Open era.
‘A real, real struggle for me physically’
Djokovic has entered only eight tournaments in 2026, and he was unusually blunt about why.
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“This year has been a big, big struggle for me with few particular issues,” he said.
“Most of the matches and tournaments this year that I’ve played have been a real, real struggle for me physically.”
“I’m trying to get to the bottom of it with my team.”
He drew a careful line between tiredness and whatever is actually wrong. The issue is not stamina, he insisted, but something more fundamental about his body, which he would not describe further.
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Shoulder and rib trouble in Beijing
The China Open has not been easy. In the round of 16, Djokovic came back from a set down to beat home player Bu Yunchaokete 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-2 after taking medical timeouts for his right shoulder and for his abdominal and rib area, according to Yahoo Sports.
A night later against Zverev, the problems looked tucked away. Djokovic rated the match as one of his two best of the season, alongside his Australian Open semifinal against Jannik Sinner.
“I felt physically pretty good a few days ago and tonight,” Djokovic told the ATP.
“But I feel okay. That cannot be better news for me, to be honest, because that wasn’t the case for most of the year.”
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First Medvedev meeting since the 2023 US Open final
Daniil Medvedev stands between Djokovic and a place in the final after seeing off Francisco Cerundolo 7-6(4), 6-3 in the other quarterfinal. Djokovic leads their head-to-head 10-5 but the two have not met competitively since the 2023 US Open final, which Djokovic won in straight sets.
“What awaits me is another extremely difficult opponent who is on a roll: Medvedev,” Djokovic said.
“I’ll have to come up with another great performance if I want to have a chance to win.”
The semifinal is scheduled for Monday in Beijing.
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