World No. 1 Jannik Sinner (23) won the Shanghai Masters on Sunday, defeating 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic (37) 7-6 (4), 6-3.
Sinner got a decisive break in the fourth game of the second set, defeating the Serbian player in an hour and 37 minutes and denying him his 100th singles title.
“He was too strong today, too strong, too fast,” Djokovic said after the match.
Sinner praised his opponent as a “legend” who continued to play “incredible tennis year after year.”
Paying tribute to former Djokovic rival Roger Federer, who was watching from the stands, the 23-year-old joked: “Legends are everywhere. I’m just trying to keep up a bit.”
In the first set, faced in front of an enthusiastic crowd, neither player was able to blink or break the other’s serve.
Sinner quickly took control in the tiebreak, breaking Djokovic’s serve on the first point and leading 5-1.
The Serbian regained his bearings, but then converted a volley to give him a set point at 6-3.
Sinner failed to convert the first time, but didn’t miss the second one off his serve.
The next big moment came in the fourth game of the second set, when Sinner was leading 40-15 on Djokovic’s serve.
Djokovic saved one break point with a ferocious ace, but was unable to stop Sinner’s spectacular down-the-line forehand that gave him the lead.
All that was left for the Italian player to do was hit an ace to end the match and win the title.
Sinner’s victory capped off a remarkable year in which he won two Grand Slams and remained at the top of the rankings since June.
But it was also a year in which he was embroiled in controversy after twice testing positive for banned steroids in March.
The International Tennis Integrity Authority (ITIA) said in August that the drug was inadvertently introduced into the player’s body when a physical therapist used a spray containing the drug to treat a cut and then gave the player massage and sports therapy. I accepted Mr. Sinner’s explanation.
But last month, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced it would appeal the decision to clear him of any wrongdoing, seeking a ban of up to two years.
The news came as Sinner was competing in the China Open, where he lost in the final to Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, who was also watching in the stands on Sunday.
He admitted that he was “not in a comfortable situation” heading into the Shanghai Games.
