Sinner dumps Djoko to deny Serb a record

Jannik Sinner applied the brakes to Novak Djokovic’s bid for a 100th career title, with the Italian carving out a 7-6 (4), 6-3 decision to win the Shanghai Masters on Sunday.

World No. 1 Sinner left the Serb hanging with victory in just under an hour and three-quarters as he won his fourth match from his past five meetings with the 37-year-old who holds the record 24 Grand Slam singles titles.

Sinner claimed his third Masters trophy of the season – his seventh since January – after Miami and Cincinnati and strengthened his grip on the top ranking after assuring himself year-end No. 1 status with his semi-final win here.

The Italian pounded down his ninth ace to secure victory, his 65th of this season.

The final was played with Roger Federer watching from the stands, alongside Carlos Alcaraz, defeated in the quarter-finals.

“I’m not used to seeing you in the crowd, I wish you were on court,” Djokovic told his former rival who retired two years ago.

“This must be my first time playing in front of you.” 

Sinner and Djokovic played a level-pegging first set, with the Italian calling on more power for a 4-0 tiebreak lead as he won the decider.

The Djokovic level dropped slightly in the second set as Sinner earned the lone break of the match for 3-1 with a screaming down-the-line winner.

The top seed finished on the first of two match points.

“It was a very tough match against Novak, one of the toughest we have, He’s a legend of our sport. I’m very happy with how I handled the situation today,” Sinner said.

“I played a good tiebreaker and that gave me confidence at the start of the second set. Novak has no weaknesses and doesn’t give you many chances in a match.”

Sinner produced 22 winners as he defeated the 37-year-old who owns four Shanghai titles, the last from 2018; Djokovic, winner of the record 40 Masters 1000 trophies, was playing here for the first time in five years.

Main photo:-Jannik sinner lifts Shanghai Masters Trophy by ATPTour.com