Jannik Sinner wins season’s 7th title
Top-ranked Jannik Sinner beat Novak Djokovic in straight sets to win the Shanghai Masters, giving the Italian his tour-leading seventh title of the season.
The Italian bettered the 24-time Grand Slam champion 7-6(4) 6-3 in an hour and 37 minutes and never faced a break point. Sinner hit eight aces and 22 winners to four and 12, respectively, for Djokovic. Djokovic was aiming for his 100th tour-level title and his fifth in Shanghai. Only Jimmy Connors with 109 titles and Roger Federer with 103 have hit the century mark in men’s tennis.
Sinner became the first man to win more than six titles in a season since Andy Murray won nine in 2016. He also pulled level in his career record against Djokovic, now at four wins apiece. “It was a very tough match, obviously, playing against Novak is one of the toughest challenges we have,” Sinner said. “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.”
The victory for Sinner came after he lost the final of the China Open in Beijing to Carlos Alcaraz and amid an ongoing doping case. The 23-year-old Sinner is now 8-2 against top-5 opponents on hard courts this year, with both losses coming against Alcaraz, who watched Sunday’s final from the stands.
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka shook off a second-set blip to win three back-to-back Wuhan Open titles after beating Chinese fifth seed and home favourite Zheng Qinwen 6-3 5-7 6-3 in the final.
