Tomas Machac was unable to offer any advice to Jakub Mensik ahead of his compatriot’s showdown with Novak Djokovic at the Shanghai Masters. The Czech star was in inspired form in China on Thursday as he dumped out reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz.

Machac could come face-to-face with Mensik in the Shanghai Masters final after seeing off Alcaraz 7-6, 7-5.

The 23-year-old will go head-to-head with Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals on Saturday, with Mensik scheduled to face Djokovic in the quarters on Friday.

Following his shock win over Alcaraz, Machac was asked in his press conference whether he had any words of advice for Mensik ahead of his showdown with Djokovic.

And the talented ace, who has never progressed beyond the fourth round of a Grand Slam, replied: “To give any advice to play against Novak, I don’t have any advice. So, you know, he’s a legend – he’s a current player, one of the best players.

“I just make some jokes today with my coach, because I just made for the second time a quarter-final, and I saw that he (Djokovic) made 95 quarter-finals, 72 finals in [ATP] 1000s and 36 titles in [ATP] 1000s.

“So I think there is nothing to say more because, this is for me… trying to be in this level to play against this kind of player is great, but what he achieved is, I don’t know what to say.”

Djokovic is widely regarded as one of the greatest players to ever step onto the court, having won a men’s record 24 Grand Slam titles throughout his illustrious career.

But the 37-year-old failed to win a Major in 2024, the first time he has ended a calendar year without clinching one of the four Grand Slam titles since 2017.

And Djokovic is wary of the threat posed by 19-year-old Mensik, who is currently ranked No. 65 in the world, as he explained ahead of their showdown in China: “He’s a young guy who’s on the rise. I’ve been following him since he played the Australian Open final, I think it was in the juniors about three years ago.

“We’ve had a week of training in Belgrade a couple of times, and he’s come to play in the Serbian Open on clay.

“I’ve followed his development. I try to be available to give him advice and guidance – and to his parents – who are lovely people. So I’m very happy for him that he’s doing so well. I always thought he had the potential to become one of the best players in the world – and that’s what he’s doing right now.”