Novak Djokovic refuses interview and walks off court after exhausting Shanghai Masters win

Novak Djokovic refused to speak after his gruelling round-of-16 clash with Jaume Munar at the Shanghai Masters. The 24-time Grand Slam champion was up against it throughout the match, with the sweltering temperatures making life difficult for the 38-year-old.

Djokovic got off to a strong start, taking the first set against Munar 6-3. But it was in the second set where the Serb began to struggle, with Munar fighting back and taking a 6-5 win to force a decider.

After Munar secured a set point in the second, Djokovic collapsed to the floor and was seen lying on his back in what looked to be considerable discomfort. He'd already had a forced time out in the first set and later vomited on court earlier, with medical officials then spotted checking his vitals during the set three changeover.

It's perhaps no surprise then that Djokovic, after securing the match-winning point, wasn't in the mood to stick around and fulfil his full media duties. Djokovic did go out of his way to say a couple of words over the stadium's PA system, primarily thanking the fans for their support during the epic 2hr40min clash.

Djokovic had previously commented on the temperatures in Shanghai following his previous win over Yannick Hanfmann. He said at the time: "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 of 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; Yannick played an incredible match from the beginning."

Other players have been less forgiving though, as Holger Rune questioned why the ATP doesn't have regulations against playing in certain temperatures. He said: "Why doesn't the ATP have a heat rule?"

Djokovic will be paired against Zizou Bergs in the quarter-final, with the Belgian having seen his way past Sebastian Korda, Casper Ruud, Francisco Cerundolo and most recently Gabriel Diallo. The last-eight clash will represent another piece of history for Djokovic, as he'll become the oldest player to reach a Masters 1000 quarter-final.