Novak Djokovic has once again been mobbed by adoring fans following his arrival in China for the Shanghai Masters. The Serbia star arrived in Asia earlier this week ahead of his participation in the competition.
He was drawn to face Marin Cilic in the round of 64 and managed to just squeeze by the Croatian to tee up a second-round clash with Yannick Hanfmann. But before getting his tournament underway, Djokovic flew to Shanghai and managed to meet up with a clutch of excited fans.
He shared a video of him meeting supporters, who were loudly chanting his name. Djokovic managed to give the group of fans a wave and blew a kiss.
The interaction was a far cry from his difficulties 12 months ago. Another huge mob of fans had travelled to the airport to welcome Djokovic only for him to be escorted out of a different exit.
Explaining the situation, he said: “I am in China after five years and I miss you. I’m so sorry, really sorry that we didn’t meet at the airport yesterday.
“I was sad when I found out, I didn’t know you were there. They took me to another exit. I hope to see many of you in Beijing or Shanghai soon. I’m excited to be in China, mostly because of you who have been following me for years. I love you, I love you all.”
And while he appreciates the support of fans, Djokovic holds the encouragement of his family most dear. Speaking in Shanghai, he has revealed that his son was desperate to follow him to Shanghai but was unable to.
Djokovic said: “Well my son, he plays tennis more and so he follows what’s going on. He was really insisting on traveling with me to China.
“He wants to travel with me everywhere, but he has to do school, and it’s not that simple. But he’s really in love with tennis and the sport.
“My kids and my wife are, you know, my biggest supporters, and obviously when they are in the stadium you’ve seen them, how they support, how passionately they care about and play with me every single point.
“So, of course, me seeing them on the stands, you know, it’s even more inspirational. I love to have them. But at the same time, you know, the kids cannot live daddy’s life, they have to live their own life.
“I try to support them and be there for them. Whether they feel like I have, yeah, they believe in me. They feel like, you know, they look at me as the best always.
“And so they, when I’m kind of down on myself, they remind me of the things that I have accomplished and why they still believe that I can do it. So their support is very meaningful to me.”