Novak Djokovic explains what contributed to Flavio Cobolli’s performance after beating him at the Shanghai Masters

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Novak Djokovic raced into the Shanghai Masters fourth round after dispatching Flavio Cobolli.

In his previous round the Serbian came through a gripping contest against Alex Michaelsen in two tie break sets.

But Tuesday’s encounter was far more comfortable as he lost three games against Flavio Cobolli to advance to the next stage.

This kept the Serbian’s hopes alive of winning the Shanghai Masters for a record fifth time in his illustrious career.

What did Novak Djokovic say about Flavio Cobilli at the Shanghai Masters?

Novak Djokovic asserted his authority from the beginning of the match as he surged into a 3-0 lead. He controlled the baseline exchanges and took advantage of any short balls as he registered 11 winners in the first set.

Cobilli settled down a little in set two, but he was still overwhelmed by the power and precision from the Olympic champion, who conceded just three games in a dominant win.

During his post-match interview, Djokovic put his opponent’s performance down to his epic and physically taxing comeback victory over Stan Wawrinka in the previous round, which lasted two hours and 30 minutes.

“Cobolli was evidently exhausted after last night’s match,” Djokovic said during his on-court interview. “We’ve all been waiting two or three days to play our matches and I think that has taken a toll on him a little bit physically today.

“But it was our first encounter, I watched him play and I knew what I needed to do and I’m very glad with the performance.”

Novak Djokovic opted for the aggressive approach to reach Shanghai Masters fourth round

Djokovic was in no mood for a long exhausting match after needing two tie breaks to beat the big-serving Michelsen in his opening match.

His return of serve was at its blistering best and the 37-year-old was flawless on serve as Cobilli had no answer to his game.

Post-match, Djokovic knew exactly what to do in order to secure a win against the Italian, and he executed his game plan exceptionally well.

“From the beginning, I had a clear game plan of what I needed to do,” Djokovic added. “Just stay aggressive, and try to use every short ball to take the initiative in the point and I’ve done that.”