Sinner beats Djokovic in straight sets to win maiden Shanghai title

Jannik Sinner improved to a 65-5 in victories this term whilst clinching his seventh title of the season and first in Shanghai after defeating four-time Rolex Shanghai Masters champion Novak Djokovic in straight sets in Sunday’s championship match.

The 23-year-old Italian and world number one took down Novak Djokovic Djokovic who was chasing his fifth Shanghai title 7-6(5), 6-3 to win his third Masters 1000 title of the season.

“It was a very tough match, obviously, playing against Novak is one of the toughest challenges we have,” said Sinner, who levelled the pair’s Lexus ATP Head series at 4-4. “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.”

Djokovic, who was bidding to become the third man to win 100 tour-level titles (Connors, Federer), was denied by the imperious serving of Sinner. The 23-year-old won 81 per cent (21/26) of points behind his first delivery in an absorbing first set, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Sinner, who clinched ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours on Saturday with his semi-final win over Tomas Machac, improved to 8-2 vs. Top-5 players on hard courts this season. His only two defeats came in Indian Wells and Beijing against his great rival Carlos Alcaraz, who watched Sunday’s final in Shanghai from the stands alongside his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero.