Roger Federer Is Playing As Good As Ever, Djokovic Says

Tennis world no. 1 Novak Djokovic is all praises to the former top player Roger Federer following a 6-4, 6-4 defeat to the Swiss Maestro at the semi-finals in the Shanghai Rolex Masters.

On Saturday, Federer played what could be his best game of the year to upset the Serb in their 36th meeting. The 33-year-old snapped the two-time title and 28-match win streak of Djokovic in China as he reached his 39th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final.

"It was definitely one of the best matches he has played against me, that's for sure," the Novak Djokovic said via atpworldtour.com. "He's playing as good as ever."

Once again, the 17-time Grand Slam champion, who is set to return to world no. 2 in the ATP Rankings captured his fourth title this year with a 7-6 (6), 7-6 (2) victory against Gilles Simon of France. Although it is his first time to win the Shanghai Masters title, it is the title that pushed him back to the world no. 2 ranking, ahead of his long-time rival Rafael Nadal.

The Swiss Maestro is set to play next in Europe, at the Swiss Indoors Basel from October 20 to 26, followed by the Paris Masters from October 27 to November 2. Afterwards, he will join the season finale, which will feature the top eight world ranked players at the ATP World Tour Finals in London from November 9 to November 16.

On the other hand, for the time being, Djokovic is focused on the birth of his first child. He claimed that his plan includes going home, while he expressed his gratitude in playing in China. "(It was) a great, great run. I enjoyed it very much. But the story doesn't end here. I'll come back next year. I'll look forward to win some more matches in China," the 27-year-old Serb said in the same website.

He further added that both his and Federer's fans were fantastic and the atmosphere was amazing, which he truly enjoyed as a player.