Jannik Sinner, number one in the world, defeated Novak Djokovic 7-6(4) and 6-3 in the final of the Shanghai Masters and cut short his dream of adding his 100th individual title to his record.
The Serbian was aiming to become the third man to win 100 individual titles on the professional circuit after Jimmy Connors (109) and his Roger Federer (103), who watched from the stands alongside four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Before a packed Qi Zhong Stadium, Sinner, 23, won the tie-break of an exciting first set, before winning the second, to become the youngest champion in history in Shanghai.
“He served very well in the first set, I couldn’t find a way to break him,” Sinner stated.
“Then I played a very good tiebreaker in the first set, which gave me confidence to start the second well. Obviously, I’m very happy with my performance throughout the tournament. It’s very special.”
There were no break points in a tense opening set in which both players dominated with serve. Djokovic, who has 24 Grand Slam titles In his record, he gave up only five points in six service games.
Sinner, who improved his tiebreaker record this year to 24-8, took the first four points in a row before killing off the first set when a Djokovic return went wide.
Djokovic’s serve lost some power in the second set and Sinner, a two-time Grand Slam champion, broke for a 3-1 lead after a forehand winner down the line.
Two more serves put Sinner within reach of victory and Cruz achieved it with a resounding ace to close the final in one hour and 37 minutes.
Sinner continues an extraordinary year
Sinner, champion of the US Open and Australian Openand who equaled his head-to-head record against Djokovic at 4-4, has won seven ATP titles this year and secured the number one ranking this week.
The Italian has won his last three matches against Djokovic and has become the first player not to have faced a single break point in consecutive matches against the 37-year-old tennis player.
When asked if he had found the key to decrypting the Djokovic gameSinner replied: “It’s hard to tell you a secret because he doesn’t have any weak points.”
“You just have to try to take advantage of the few opportunities it gives you. But there aren’t that many in the whole game and you have to try to believe in every moment.”
The victory in Shanghai also secured Sinner’s fourth ATP Masters 1000 title in total and third this year, adding to his wins in Cincinnati and Miami.
Djokovic said he couldn’t match Sinner’s level.
“Today was too good, too strong, too fast and well done. You are having an incredible year. You deserve it,” he said. “Also, I’m glad to see Roger. I’m not used to seeing you in the stands. I wish you were here on the court playing with us.”
“It’s probably the first time I’ve played in front of you, so I had a little bit of pressure today, but it’s great. Thanks for being here. Carlos too. Thanks for coming.”
