(CNN) – Jannik Sinner won his seventh title of the season this Sunday with a straight sets victory over Novak Djokovic in the Shanghai Masters final.
The Italian, already ranked No. 1 in the world at the end of the year thanks to his semi-final victory over Tomas Machak, defeated Djokovic 7-6 (4) 6-3 to claim his fourth Masters 1000 title of his career. and the third in 2024.
Djokovic was aiming to become the third man in history after Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer to win 100 tour titles, but he was never able to overcome Sinner’s powerful serves and the Italian didn’t face a single break point in the contest.
Sinner’s seven titles in 2024 are the most a player has won in a single season since Andy Murray won nine in 2016, according to the ATP.
“It was a very tough match, obviously playing against Novak is one of the toughest challenges we have to overcome,” Sinner said after the match, according to the ATP. “I’m very pleased with the way I handled the situation.
“He served really well in the first set, I couldn’t find a way to break him. “I played really well in the tiebreaker, which gave me confidence that I could start the second set well.”
“It’s hard to tell a secret about Djokovic because he has no weaknesses. You should try to take advantage of the little opportunities it gives you, but there aren’t many in the game. “He’s a legend of our sport and he’s very difficult to play against, so I’m very happy.”
Sinner’s victory tied his head-to-head record with Djokovic at 4-4, and the 23-year-old becomes the first player since Rafael Nadal in 2013 to beat the Serb three times in a row, according to Tennis.com.
Sunday’s defeat was Djokovic’s first in a Masters final in Shanghai, having previously maintained a perfect 4-0 record.
The 37-year-old overcame what he described as injury “issues” in both the quarter-finals and semi-finals but did not look handicapped against Sinner.
In his post-match interview, Djokovic noted that Roger Federer was in the stands to thunderous applause from the crowd, and said it was the first time he had played against the Swiss.
“It added pressure,” he joked.
The Paris Masters, which begins on October 28, will be the final tournament of the season before the world’s top eight players head to Turin, Italy, for the ATP Finals in November.