The final of the $10.298 million Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai is a generational duel: Top seed Jannik Sinner will face Olympic champion Novak Djokovic on Sunday. The 23-year-old Sinner first defeated the Czech Tomas Machac 6:4, 7:5, then the 37-year-old Djokovic defeated the US Open finalist Taylor Fritz after 1:56 hours 6:4, 7: 6(6) and fended off a set point in the tiebreak at 5:6.
Djokovic has thus earned the chance of his 100th title, even if he is not favorite against Sinner in the repeat of the Australian Open final. In the head-to-head with the South Tyrolean, the Serb still leads 4:3.
“I’m doing my best to recover, I had some physical difficulties yesterday and today on the court,” said Djokovic, including a medical timeout in the second set. “Taylor is in great shape, he plays really well, especially on this surface and I knew it would be a big test for me,” admitted Djokovic, who was happy not to have to go into the third set. Djokovic is playing in China for the first time in five years. “It creates an energy. I came here with the desire to reach the final and have a chance at the 100th title.”
In the first semi-final, Sinner, number one in the world rankings, also prevailed in two sets after a high-class semi-final against 23-year-old Tomas Machac after 1:42 hours. The latter surprisingly eliminated world number two Carlos Alcaraz in two sets in the quarterfinals. However, the Czech was denied the “double”, i.e. defeating number 1 in the same tournament. “We’ve all seen what talent he has and the firepower he plays with. “I tried to stay focused and play every point with the best intensity,” was Sinner’s recipe for success.
“This is what you dream about as a child”
Although he is still in the middle of the tournament, he has reached another milestone. By reaching the final, the South Tyrolean has cemented his number 1 position to such an extent that the tennis throne is secure for him at the end of the year. “It’s unbelievable, it’s what you dream about as a child, just to reach this position. Now I have it at the end of the year, which is very special.” Sinner has been leading the ATP ranking since June 10th.
On Sunday, Sinner will go for his third Masters 1000 title in 2024 after Miami and Cincinnati. It would be his seventh tournament victory this year, in which he also won the Australian and US Opens, or his 17th overall. But behind all the sporting successes there is still a question mark about his immediate future. After an acquittal despite two positive doping tests, he is threatened with a ban because the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) recently appealed to the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne.
