Seventh crown of the year for No. 1 Sinner in Shanghai | ATP Tour

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Seventh crown of the year for No. 1 Sinner in Shanghai

The Italian prevented Djokovic from winning the 100th title of his career

October 13, 2024

Just one day after confirming that he will finish this season as the best player in the world with the ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF, Jannik Sinner won his seventh title of 2024 this Sunday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

The Italian beat Novak Djokovic in the final of the ATP Masters 1000 in Shanghai 7-6(4), 6-3, in one hour and 37 minutes, to become the first player from his country to lift the title in the Asian tournament.

“It’s hard to tell the secret [de ganar a Djokovic]because he has no weaknesses. You have to try and take advantage of the small opportunities it gives you, but there aren’t many during the game. He is a legend of our sport, it is very hard to play against him, so I am very happy,” confessed the Italian.

Sinner became the first player to win three ATP Masters 1000 titles in the same season (Miami, Cincinnati and Shanghai) since Rafael Nadal did so in 2018. And with 10 consecutive victories in tournaments in this category, he is the first to link two titles in a row at this level since Djokovic in 2020 (Rome and Cincinnati).

In addition, it is the fourth ATP Masters 1000 crown that Sinner has won in his young career, which places him as the sixth active player with the most trophies in this category in his record.

More ATP Masters 1000 (active):

Novak Djokovic – 40

Rafael Nadal – 36

Daniil Medvedev – 6

Alexander Zverev – 6

Carlos Alcaraz – 5

Jannik Sinner – 4

But it is not only in the ATP Masters 1000 that he has shown signs of his growth. The best season of his life, which has given him the opportunity to establish himself as No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, has allowed him to collect seven titles at the Australian Open, Rotterdam, Miami, Halle, Cincinnati, US Open and Shanghai. In Beijing, only Carlos Alcaraz could separate him from another success in the final.

These numbers already give him his personal record for most victories in the same year with 65 games won at this point in the season. Two of those wins have been against Djokovic on the two occasions they have met face to face (Australian Open semi-final and Shanghai final), which leaves the Lexus ATP Head2Head between the two at 4-4.

This Sunday at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena, the Serbian was chasing crown No. 100 of his legendary professional career to join the club of centenarians that, in the Open Era, only Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer ( 103). And he jumped onto the court, drawing up a plan that threatened the world No. 1.

Djokovic hardly suffered with his serve in the first set. With 82% of points won with his serve (24/29), with three blank games and without giving up a break option, he reached the tie-break. Sinner also stood firm with his serve, went from less to more, and in the tiebreaker he brought out his best repertoire to take a 4-0 lead that was insurmountable (7-4).

“It was a very tough game, obviously. Playing against Djokovic is one of the toughest challenges we have,” Sinner acknowledged on the court after the victory. “I am very happy with how I handled the situation. He served very well in the first set, I couldn’t find a way to break him. I played a very good tie-break, which gave me the confidence to start the second set well.”

The Italian won a heat, as he has done in the 70 games he has played in 2024, and gained the confidence necessary to accelerate towards victory. Much more so after in the fourth game of the second set he took advantage of a 15/40 with 2-1 in his favor to seal the first break of the match.

Sinner escaped 4-1 and was able to preserve the advantage to put another finishing touch to the most brilliant season of his career.

Did you know that…?

Jannik Sinner, at 23 years and one month, becomes the youngest champion in the history of the tournament, surpassing Andy Murray who in 2010 had done so at 23 years and five months.