Defending Shanghai Rolex Masters champ Roger Federer was ousted in the opening round. Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, Stan Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych all survived three setters in reaching the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, top seed Novak Djokovic appears to be knifing his way through the draw all but unopposed. Coming off his record sixth title in Beijing, where he surrendered just 18 games en route to the trophy, the Serb is playing with an energy-preserving potency rarely seen in the sport. With Friday’s 7-6(6), 6-1 elite-eight dispatch of Aussie Bernard Tomic, he has now won 15 straight matches and 18 straight sets dating back to his title run at the China Open.

How’s that for efficiency?

“There is no secret,” insisted Djokovic. “I guess it depends how do you feel on a given day, depends how well your opponent is playing, how well you’re playing. It’s a combination of things. You can’t just expect to win all the time very comfortably, but I’ve been doing that so for the last week and a half. Obviously, it’s giving me more confidence. Any time I come back to the court, I feel good and I start off well.”

Djokovic is a seeking his career-high 13th straight final since falling in the quarter-finals in Doha to start the year (l. to Ivo Karlovic). The last player to reach 10 or more consecutive finals in a season was Federer (11 in 2006, 17 dating back to 2005).

“I’m not going to go too much into what I’m doing because you want to keep some things for yourself and for your team,” said Djokovic. “Generally, most of the work that is done is done before I start a tournament. You’re just trying to keep this fine‑tuning and good feeling on the court. Obviously, it’s better to win comfortably in two sets than staying too long. Again, the result is not in your hand, but you can always do your best to prepare yourself for the battle and try to perform your best.”

It once seemed an impossible ask for Djokovic to surpass his output from 2011, a historic year in which he went 70-6 (.921) and claimed three of four majors. But he’s already 71-5 (.934) in 2015, having once again won three Grand Slams, in addition to ATP Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo and Rome. And it’s only October. The 28-year-old’s claim that 2015 is his the best year of his career — something he began hinting at as far back as Wimbledon — is now becoming a reality.

“I don’t allow myself to really lose the concentration or commitment to any tournament because it’s my life,” he explained. “I have a responsibility not just towards myself but towards the team of people that travels with me. So I accept and approach every tournament equally professionally and serious.  I try to give my best anytime I’m on the court.”

DJOKOVIC’S 70-WIN SEASONS

“As No. 1 of the world it’s another dimension of responsibility and attention that you have,” Djokovic added. “You need to be able to carry yourself well because everybody wants to win against you. You don’t want to lose. You want to go out on the court and fight for the wins as much as anybody else. That’s the way I’ve been brought up. Regardless of the category of the event that I’m playing in, I’m always going to try my best. I think that kind of approach allows me to motivate myself and to stand up each day and do repetitively things that I’ve been doing for so many years. In the end, I know it pays off.”

Could there possibly be any room for improvement at this point in his career, or is it just a matter of maintaining his level?

“I think it’s a combination of the two: maintaining the high level, the performance, the tennis I have right now, and also working on certain parts of the game that I think can be improved,” he said. “I was brought up that way and thought to always look for some room for improvement. I still believe there are shots in my game that can be better. I think that’s one of the things that keeps me going. It motivates me.”