Jannik Sinner secured his seventh title of a remarkable year with victory over Novak Djokovic in the final of the Shanghai Masters.
Sinner, who is already guaranteed to finish the season as world No 1, was too strong for Djokovic, making it four wins from his last five matches against the Serbian with a 7-6(4), 6-3 triumph. That denied Djokovic a 100th career title, although this week has been another reminder that the 37-year-old remains a factor at the top of the game.
There was very little to choose between them in the opening set, Sinner recovering from 0-30 at 4-5 then making the better start in the tie-break. A missed backhand volley from Djokovic proved costly, and the relentless pressure from the other end told in the fourth game of the second set, when Sinner drilled a forehand winner to claim the only break of the contest.
Roger Federer and Carlos Alcaraz were among those watching from the stands as the Italian, who did not face a break point all match, clinched victory with an ace. “It was a very tough match, obviously,” said Sinner. “Playing against Novak is one of the toughest challenges we have and I’m obviously very, very happy how I handled the situation.
“He was serving great the first set, I really couldn’t find a way to break him. I played a very good breaker in the first set, which gave me the confidence to start off well in the second set and obviously very happy with the performance throughout this whole tournament. It’s obviously a very special one.”
Djokovic had been bidding to win this title for the fifth time and said: “It’s been a pleasure to be here in Shanghai once again. I’ve had lots of success on Chinese soil in my career and I haven’t played in China for five years so I missed it and I’m really glad that I came this year.
“I think I played some really good tennis. Obviously congratulations to Jannik, he was just too good today, too strong, too fast. Well done for having an incredible year, you deserve this.”
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Addressing Federer, Djokovic added: “It’s nice to see Roger. I’m not used to seeing you in the stands, I wish you were on the court playing with us. It’s probably the first time that I’m playing in front of you so I had an added pressure today but it’s great, thanks for being here, and Carlos as well.”
