World No. 1 Jannik Sinner last night defeated 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 to win the Shanghai Masters, while world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka survived Zheng Qinwen to win the Wuhan Open.
Sinner took a crucial break in the fourth game of the second set to defeat the Serb in 1 hour, 37 minutes and deny him a 100th career singles title.
Djokovic 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 on from the stands alongside four-times Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“He was just too good today, too strong, too fast,” Djokovic said after the match.
Sinner saluted his opponent as a “legend” who kept playing “incredible tennis ... year after year.”
“There are legends everywhere; I just try to keep up a little bit,” the 23-year-old joked, in a nod to former Djokovic rival Federer.
In front of a packed crowd at the Qi Zhong Stadium, Sinner came out on top in a tiebreak in an enthralling opening set, before taking the one-sided second set to become the youngest-ever champion in Shanghai.
“He was serving great the first set, I really couldn’t find a way to break him,” Sinner said.
“Then I played a very good tiebreaker 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.”
US Open and Australian Open champion Sinner, who leveled his head-to-head record against Djokovic at 4-4, has won seven ATP titles this year and ensured the year-end No. 1 ranking last week.
Sinner has won his last three matches against Djokovic and became the first player to have not faced a single breakpoint in back-to-back matches against the 37-year-old.
Asked if he had found the key to unlocking Djokovic’s game, Sinner said: “It’s tough to tell you a secret because he doesn’t have any weaknesses. You just have to try to use the really small amount of chances he gives you, but there are not so many throughout the whole match and you have to try to believe in every moment.”
The victory in Shanghai also ensured Sinner’s fourth ATP Masters 1000 title overall and his third this year, adding to his wins in Cincinnati and Miami.
In Wuhan, Sabalenka battled through a tough third set to beat world No. 5 Zheng 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.
The Belarusian top seed finally prevailed on her third match point against the Chinese No. 1 after a big-hitting battle that lasted 2 hours, 40 minutes.
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
MILWAUKEE PREVAIL: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points as the Bucks withstood Nikola Jokic’s 27th triple-double of the season to beat the Nuggets Golden State star Stephen Curry on Thursday drilled 12 three-pointers in a scintillating 56-point display that carried the Warriors to a 121-115 victory over the Orlando Magic. Curry’s explosive performance helped the Warriors dig themselves out of a 17-point hole, with the point guard signaling the start of the fightback with a three-pointer from beyond the half-court line to end the first half that pulled the Warriors within 66-52 at the break. In the third quarter, he single-handedly outscored the Magic with 22 points to Orlando’s 21. The four-time NBA champion finished two three-pointers shy of former teammate Klay Thompson’s record for most
RSS