Despite being two of the top 3 players in the world,
Jannik Sinner and
Novak Djokovic had only met once in 2024 (in the semis of the Australian Open, where the Italian won in four sets). This finally changed in the final of the
Shanghai Masters, where the number 1 has once again defeated the Serbian after controlling the match from start to finish.
Sinner adds a new victory to his spectacular season after beating Djokovic 7-6(4), 6-3 in an
ATP 1000 where it was already confirmed, with the elimination of Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals, that the Italian will finish the year at the top of the ranking.
Sinner waits for his moment to win the first set
In the first set, the opening games were not too hotly contested. Both players were making contact with their opponents, while no break point appeared. Djokovic was offering a very high level in his service games, and Sinner had no choice but to hold firm also with his serve if he did not want to lose the set.
Down 4-5 in the set, Sinner would face his most difficult moment, when Djokovic went 0-30 up threatening to win the set. However, with two perfect serves, the world number 1 turned that threat around, and later confirmed the 5-5 on the scoreboard. Everything pointed to a tie break, and so it was to happen.
In the tiebreaker, Sinner started with a convincing 4-0 lead that left him very close to winning the first set. Although Djokovic cut to 5-3, with the possibility of 5-4, the Serb made a wrong decision that would end with a failure at the net to leave the Italian 6-3 with 3 set balls. It was not going to be the first one, but the world number 1 of the world closed the set 7-4 in the tie break.
Sinner, far superior to Djokovic in second set
In the second set, Sinner was to maintain the high level he had offered in the previous tie break. With 2-1 in his favor, the Italian was to enjoy the first 2 break balls of the match to get 15-40 on Djokovic's serve. Although the Serb saved the first one, Sinner got the break to take a 1-3 lead in the scoreboard.
Then, Jannik Sinner was already on the way to victory by confirming the previous break and taking a 4-1 lead. The world No. 1 was caressing the Shanghai Masters trophy. Although Novak Djokovic was not going to throw in the towel at any time, the Italian's superiority was unstoppable, and he ended up winning the ATP 1000 after closing the second set with his serve, 6-3.