Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner won the ATP Masters in Shanghai by defeating Novak Djokovic 2-0 in sets (7-6, 6-3).
The first set, in which Djokovic dictated the pace, went to the Italian in a tiebreak. In the second set, Sinner broke Djokovic’s serve early on and held onto his advantage to claim the valuable trophy.
Novak Djokovic’s pursuit of his 100th career title will have to continue. The Serbian ace had hoped to lift the trophy in Shanghai, where he had more fan support than anywhere else, but Jannik Sinner had other plans.
In a close match, Sinner showed stronger nerves and perhaps slightly better physical condition. His serve was more consistent, which was enough to win the Masters in China. With a victory over the greatest tennis player of all time, Sinner confirmed that he is having a season of a lifetime and will be the world number one for the rest of 2024.
In a tense match, very evenly matched and uncertain throughout both sets, it was a more reliable serve that made the difference. As soon as Djokovic’s first serve started to let him down, which he couldn’t compensate for with his very poor net play today, he had signed his own verdict, as Sinner had no such fluctuations.
The first set felt like they were playing a training match. There weren’t as many aces (6-2 for the Italian), but there were more winners after which points barely developed. Statistics showed that each point lasted an average of five strokes. Too few to really excite the crowd, although the points that did develop looked great, with strong and precise strokes in every swing of the racket.
Twice in games, Djokovic got to 0-30, but Sinner didn’t give him a chance, precisely because of his serve, to get to a break point. It didn’t frustrate Novak, as he responded with equally confident service games and logically, the set went to a tiebreak.
And there, Djokovic started poorly. In the first point, he played a bad serve-volley, Sinner passed him, made a mini-break, and everything started to go downhill for the Serbian tennis player. In the last moment when he had a chance to come back, Novak went to the net again and sent a volley into the net. Sinner took the first set.
It was clear that in the second set, someone’s serve would falter, and unfortunately, it was Djokovic’s. The fourth game was crucial when his first serve completely failed him, which he tried to compensate for by coming to the net, but today Novak did that part of the game poorly, lost both points, and Sinner made a break, which in such a close match was a colossal advantage. Djokovic didn’t have a single break point for the rest of the match.
Sinner was solid and steady as a rock from start to finish, like Novak in his best years when rivals would fall into an abyss after the first break. The Italian routinely held onto his advantage and won another title, evening the score at 4-4 in his head-to-head record against the tennis GOAT.
READ MORE:
AND THE STATS SAY IT ALL: Another quick win for Nole, the Russian didn’t stand a chance!
Source: Mozzartsport
Photo: HECTOR RETAMAL / AFP / Profimedia