Novak Djokovic's bid to add a 100th singles title to his trophy cabinet was dashed after he was beaten 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 by world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the Shanghai Masters final on Oct 13.
The Serb had been hoping to become only the third man to win 100 singles titles on the tour in the professional era after Jimmy Connors (109) and rival Roger Federer (103), who was watching from the stands alongside four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz.
In front of a packed crowd at the Qi Zhong Stadium, the 23-year-old Sinner came out on top in a tiebreak in an enthralling opening set, before taking the one-sided second set to become the youngest champion in Shanghai.
“He was serving great the first set, I really couldn't find a way to break him,” the Italian said.
“Then I played a very good tiebreak in the first set, which gave me the confidence to start off well in the second set. I'm obviously very happy about my performance throughout this whole tournament. It's a very special one.”
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Denne historien er fra October 14, 2024-utgaven av The Straits Times.
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