Jannik Sinner denied Novak Djokovic a 100th ATP Tour level title after defeating him in the Shanghai Masters Final.
World number one Jannik Sinner continued his dominant form this season with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 victory over Novak Djokovic.
The Serb was bidding to become just the third man, after Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer – who watched on in the crowd – to join this prestigious club of those with a century of ATP titles.
After a dismal US Open run, Djokovic was keen to show that he still has the quality to win the big titles.
With Rafael Nadal announcing his upcoming retirement this week too, Djokovic pushed the leader of the new generation Sinner to prince his best tennis.
And produce he did – just a handful of micro-lapses from Djokovic at the pivotal moments granted Sinner the edge.
Jannik Sinner matches Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer record after historic Shanghai title
Sinner’s recent surge in form is more or less mirroring last year’s, when he accelerated into the Australian Open with a Davis Cup masterclass.
Now with the US Open and just one defeat in the last two months (22 wins in 23), the Italian is enjoying significant daylight at the top of the ATP rankings.
With a remarkable seven titles this year, Sinner’s Shanghai Masters win has seen him propelled into an elite club of the sport’s all-time greats, including his opponent in Sunday’s final.
Sinner is the third player to win the Australian and US Open, as well as at least three ATP Masters 1000 events on the hard-court in a season after Federer (2006) and Djokovic (2011, 15).
Furthermore, the 23-year-old is also the youngest of the three to complete this historic feat.
Jannik Sinner’s recent record against Novak Djokovic is something to behold
With Sinner having the first three meetings with Djokovic, he has since won the last three including the Davis Cup semi-finals where he saved three consecutive match points.
Carlos Alcaraz however, trails 4-3 to the Serb, with the Olympic defeat in August the latest revenge after the Spaniard’s consecutive Wimbledon final defeats.
After Djokovic condemned this year’s US Open finalist Taylor Fritz to his tenth defeat in ten against him, the gulf between Sinner and nearly everyone else on the ATP Tour is astonishing.
Indeed even Djokovic is suffering from the ATP’s new hard-court kind.
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