Sinner denies Djokovic the century, wins the Shanghai Masters title
Novak Djokovic failed to earn his 100th ATP Tour-level trophy as Jannik Sinner prevailed over him in the Shanghai Masters final on Sunday
© Andy Wong/AP/SIPA
Italian Jannik Sinner, the world No 1, overcame world No 4 Novak Djokovic in straight sets on Sunday in the 2024 Shanghai Masters final to clinch his seventh title of the season. He defeated the Serb 7-6 (4), 6-3 on Stadium Court of Qi Zhong Tennis Center.
Sinner came up with the win in an hour, 39 minutes, on the back of eight aces, 22 winners and one break-point conversion, keeping his serve unchallenged all the while his rival Carlos Alcaraz and 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer watched from the stands.
The result marked Djokovic’s first loss in a Shanghai Masters final. Sinner, on the other hand, became the youngest champion at the ATP Masters 1000 event, aged 23 years and one month.
“It was a very tough match playing against Novak,” Sinner said shortly after the match ended. “He’s one of the toughest challenge we have and obviously how I handled the situation. He was serving great in the first set. I couldn’t find a way to break him. Then I played a very good breaker which gave me the confidence to start off well in the second set.”
Here’s how it happened:
Set 1: Sinner strong in the tiebreaker
The match-up began on a competitive note with Sinner and Djokovic exchanging intense rallies and powerful serves, with the eventual champion producing six of the eight aces.
The Italian fared better in terms of winning first-serve points with an average of 81 percent (21/26). The Serb outnumbered him with 82 percent second-serve points won, holding his serves to love in the seventh, ninth, and 11th games.
The two remained unbroken and forced a tiebreaker, where Sinner overwhelmed Djokovic, who missed a crucial volley at 5-3 to later concede a lead despite saving a set point.
Set 2: Djokovic’s second-serve win percentage drops
The second set witnessed a drop in the energy levels of both players, however, Djokovic seemed as if he hit the wall after the tight opener.
The Serb’s second-serve win percentage dropped drastically to 33 (3/9) as he nearly bottled a 40-0 lead in the second game. In his next service game, he missed another volley on the net to eventually be broken by Sinner, who fired a scintillating forehand winner down the line.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion produced the last bit of goods from his racket by dishing out another hold to love in the eighth game before the Italian sealed the championship in the ninth with an ace.
Djokovic jokes about “added pressure” due to Federer’s presence
Djokovic spoke highly of Sinner, who is now 65-6 on the win-loss meter in the season, during the presentation ceremony.
“Congratulations to Jannik, he was just too good today, too fast, you’re having an incredible year, you deserve this. Congrats to Jannik’s team, I know a couple of guys there, you’re doing an incredible job,” he said addressing his former teammates Marco Panichi and Ulises Badio, who are now working with the Italian.
“Also, it’s nice to see you 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’m playing in front of you so I had an added pressure.”
Chasing a 100th ATP Tour-level title, Novak Djokovic was unable to create any break points on the serve of Jannik Sinner, who also leveled their head-to-head 4-4 with the victory in Shanghai.
