Watch: Novak Djokovic battles heat on court in brutal second round Shanghai showdown

Tennis is often described as a battle of endurance, but on Sunday in Shanghai, Novak Djokovic turned survival into an art form. The 38-year-old, known for his near-superhuman conditioning, found himself locked not only in a fight against Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann, but against the merciless heat that turned the court into a sauna.

By the end of the match, Djokovic had vomited multiple times, soaked through his shirt, and looked less like a tennis champion and more like a marathon runner staggering over the finish line. And yet, somehow, he still won, defeating the German in three sets 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.

The Shanghai Masters this year has been brutal. Players have wilted, crumpled, and retired in droves under relentless humidity. Cameras caught Djokovic gasping for air, leaning on his knees after points, and briefly vomiting behind the baseline before carrying on as if refusing to acknowledge what had just happened.

It was not just the weather that tested him; it was the opponent. Hanfmann came out firing, serving with the confidence of a man who’d never heard of fatigue. His 13 aces, nearly double Djokovic’s seven, set the tone early, and he weathered the storm literally and figuratively.

The physical strain was visible. Djokovic’s face was ashen between rallies, his shirt drenched through, his towel soaked in ice water. At one point in the second set, he retreated behind the court and vomited, drawing gasps from the Shanghai crowd.

In a post-match interview, the Serbian stated, "It's the same for every player out on the court, but it's brutal... It's brutal when you have over 80 per cent humidity day after day, particularly for the guys when they're playing during the day with heat, with sun, it's even more brutal... For me, biologically it's a bit more challenging to deal with it. But I had to really weather the storm today."