Jannik Sinner won a high-quality Shanghai Masters final, denying Novak Djokovic the opportunity to win the 100th championship of his great career.
Sinner, the world number one, continues his dominance this season with a 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 win over the 37-year-old Serb.
Djokovic was attempting to become only the third guy, following Jimmy Connors (109) and the watching Roger Federer (103) to win a slew of titles.
“I have got to keep striving to make it happen somewhere in the near future,” said 24-time major champion Djokovic, whose only victory this year has been the Olympic gold medal he had been chasing.
“It’s not a live-or-die type of objective for me; I believe I’ve fulfilled all of my major goals in my career
“Right now it’s really about Slams and about seeing how far I can kind of push the bar for myself.”
Sinner, who has a doping investigation pending after being previously absolved of guilt, performed admirably to win his sixth title of the year.
The Italian, whose victories include the Australian and US Opens, has won 65 of his 71 matches in 2024.
