World No. 1 Jannik Sinner Stops Novak Djokovic From Winning ...

SHANGHAI, CHINA - OCTOBER 13: Jannik Sinner (R) of Italy and Novak Djokovic of Serbia pose with the ... [+] trophy during the award ceremony after Men's Singles final match on Day 14 of 2024 Shanghai Rolex Masters at Qi Zhong Tennis Centre on October 13, 2024 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

Novak Djokovic was trying to become just the third man to win 100 career titles in men’s tennis.

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner had other ideas.

The Italian defeated the 24-time Grand Slam champion 7-6(4), 6-3 to lift his Tour-leading seventh title of 2024 on Sunday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

Sinner, the Australian Open and U.S. Open champion, became the first man to win more than six titles in a calendar year since Andy Murray won nine in 2016. Sinner clinched a high-octane first set by improving to 24-8 in tie-breaks for the year, before surging to an ultimately unassailable 4-1 lead in the early stages of the second set.

“It was a very tough match, obviously, playing against Novak is one of the toughest challenges we have,” said Sinner, who levelled the pair’s Lexus ATP Head series at 4-4. “I’m very happy with how I handled the situation. He was serving great the first set, I couldn’t find a way to break him. I played a really good tie-break which gave me confidence to start off well in the second set.

“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. He is a legend of our sport, he’s very tough to play against, so I am very happy.”

Djokovic, who was bidding to join Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103), in the 100-title club, was denied by the imperious serving of Sinner. The 23-year-old won 81 per cent (21/26) of points behind his first delivery in an absorbing first set, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Sinner, who clinched ATP Year-End No. on Saturday with his semifinal win over Tomas Machac, improved to 8-2 vs. Top-5 players on hard courts this season. His only two defeats came in Indian Wells and Beijing against his great rival Carlos Alcaraz, who watched Sunday's final in Shanghai from the stands alongside his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Prior to Sunday’s contest, Djokovic held a perfect 4-0 record in Shanghai finals, with his sole win from behind coming in 2012 against Murray. However, the 37-year-old was unable to spark a comeback against Sinner, who stood firm in the second set.

Despite experiencing troubles with his left knee in his quarterfinal and semifinal matches, Djokovic moved well throughout the match. He was particularly dialed in during the opening set, when he dropped just three points behind his second serve, according to ATP Stats. However, the gruelling nature of the battle with Sinner gradually appeared to take its toll on the World No. 4, whose serve was dismantled in the fourth game of the second set.

From there, Sinner found an extra gear to cruise to a straight-sets victory, his third consecutive over Djokovic. With the one-hour and 37-minute triumph, Sinner recorded his personal best 65th win in a season.

(The ATP contributed)

Follow me on Twitter. Check out my website.