2024 Shanghai Masters Final: Jannik Sinner v Novak Djokovic
It’s a cracker of a final at the Shanghai Masters Sunday with world No. 1 Jannik Sinner squaring off against Novak Djokovic.
Both players advanced to the final after straight-set semifinal wins. Sinner rolled past surprise semifinalist Tomas Machac 6-4, 7-5. The Italian is now 44-4 on the season.
“I think we all saw how much talent he has, how much firepower he can produce,” Sinner told the ATP. “I had to be very careful in every service game, because he returns very aggressively and very fast.
“I just tried to stay there every point, to see what was going to happen, like you saw in the last game. Just playing every point with the maximum intensity I could, so I’m very happy about that. I’m happy to be back in a final again.”
The win also locked up the year-end No. 1 for Sinner who has won both hard court Slams this year plus four other titles including the Masters in Miami and Cincinnati. Tomorrow he’ll go for a 17th title and 4th at the Masters level.
“It’s amazing. It’s something you dream of when you are a kid, when you are young, just to reach the No. 1. Now having the year-end, it’s also a different and special feeling,” he said. “It means so much to me, obviously. This is something I could not accomplish without all the people I have around — the family and friends and also a big credit to my team.”
Djokovic will seek his first title of the season — and first since the US Open last year — and his 100th overall. He just beat Taylor Fritz 6-4, 7-6(6) to improve to 10-0 against the American.
“It always takes it out of me, these kinds of battles, but particularly towards the end of the tournament,” said Djokovic. “At this stage of my career, I’m doing my best to recover and I had some issues here and there on the court, physically, yesterday and today. But I managed to overcome it. It was a stern test. Taylor is in form, playing probably the best tennis of his life coming off a Grand Slam final, and he’s playing really well, particularly on this surface.
“He’s serving big, so I knew it was going to be a big test for me. I did not want to get to a third set, and I’m just glad to overcome in two.”
Djokovic and Sinner have met seven times before with the Serb up 4-3. However, Sinner has won three of their last four including a convincing Australian Open semifinal win in January.
Djokovic has won the Shanghai title four times.
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