It's a dream come true for the 19-year-old, who started to play tennis because of the legend. Djokovic was already at the top when Mensik made his first tennis steps, and the Serb is still among the world's best players many years later, extending his incredible legacy and cementing the GOAT status.

Jakub Mensik pushed Novak Djokovic all the way at the Shanghai Masters, earning lofty praise from the 24-time grand slam champion.

Novak Djokovic dug out a 6-7(4) 6-1 6-4 win over Czech Jakub Mensik on Friday to advance to the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters, where he will face Taylor Fritz. The four-times Shanghai champion managed to raise his level after losing the first set on a tiebreak and never looked back as he beat his 19-year-old opponent to enter the semi-finals for a ninth time.

Novak Djokovic will compete in his ninth Shanghai Masters semi-final. Novak faced the young Czech Jakub Mensik in the quarter-final and scored a 6-7, 6-1, 6-4 victory in two hours and 19 minutes, setting the semi-final clash with Taylor Fritz.

Novak Djokovic reached his 78th ATP Masters 1000 semi-final with his win against Jakub Mensik in Shanghai, but had to do so from a set down.