World No.1 Jannik Sinner beat Novak Djokovic in straight sets to win the Shanghai Masters.
The Italian produced a dominant all-round display to better the 24-time Grand Slam champion 7-6, 6-3 and claim his seventh title of 2024.
The 23-year-old becomes the first man to win more than six titles in a calendar year since 2016, when Andy Murray won nine.
Sinner hit eight aces and 22 winners and never faced a break point during the one-hour and 37-minute triumph over Djokovic, who was looking to win a record-extending fifth Shanghai title.
The 37-year-old Serbian was also aiming for his 100th ATP Tour title, a milestone which only Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) have reached in men’s tennis.
“It was a very tough match, obviously, playing against Novak is one of the toughest challenges we have,” said Sinner during the post-game trophy presentation.
“I’m very happy with how I handled the situation. He was serving great the first set, I couldn’t find a way to break him. I played a really good tie-break which gave me confidence to start off well in the second set.
“It’s tough to tell you a secret about [Djokovic] because he doesn’t have any weaknesses.
“You have to try and use the small chances that he gives you, but there are not many during the match. He is a legend of our sport, he’s very tough to play against, so I am very happy.”
Sinner was last week guaranteed to finish the year as the No.1-ranked men’s tennis player after nearest rival Carlos Alcaraz’s defeat by Tomas Machac in the quarterfinals in Shanghai.
This was Sinner’s first tournament win since the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced it would be appealing against a decision to clear Sinner of responsibility for his two positive tests for a banned substance earlier in 2024.
(Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)
