Novak Djokovic says rehabilitation on his elbow injury has been going well and he is excited to return to competitive tennis.

World number one Djokovic withdrew from the China Open due to the issue but will be back in action at the Shanghai Masters, which he was won three times in the past four years, this week.

The Serbian enjoyed his time off and is looking forward to beginning the competition feeling fresh.

"Rehabilitation has been going well. I got to have some weeks with my family and also to do things off the tennis court, off the Tour," said Djokovic.

"I'm happy to be back in Shanghai, a place where I've had some wonderful memories from before, just looking forward to getting on the court.

"You don't get to have that many free weeks. You try not to have too much time off with no tennis racquet in your hand if you're not forced by injury because during the season it takes a little bit of time to get into the competitive mode.

"But I think it was good for me to have that extra week because I had plenty of things to do, also rest my mind a little bit and come here fresher."

Djokovic reiterated his desire to rediscover his passion for tennis by developing an approach not solely centred around winning titles.

After completing a career Grand Slam by winning the French Open, the world number one suffered a third-round exit at Wimbledon, first-round loss at the Olympics and was beaten in the US Open final by Stan Wawrinka.

"I'm really trying to re-find that kind of sense of happiness and intrinsic joy of being on the court," he said.

"I've lost that a little bit after the French Open because it took a lot out of me. Obviously it was very fulfilling winning it for the first time in my career after putting a lot of expectation and pressure on myself but also people around me.

"So the last three months were quite up and down but I'm redefining and restructuring my mindset and the way I want to proceed in my career from this moment on."