Tennis | ATP Shanghai 2024 | Novak Djokovic looks for century milestone against Jannik Sinner in final showdown

Tennis | ATP Shanghai 2024 | Novak Djokovic looks for century milestone against Jannik Sinner in final showdown
Tennis | ATP Shanghai 2024 | Novak Djokovic looks for century milestone against Jannik Sinner in final showdown

By Tony Fairbairn

  • Jannik Sinner [1] in Novak Djokovic [4]
  • H2H: Djokovic leads 4-3
SHANGHAI, CHINA – Novak Djokovic is looking to win the 100th title of his career in Shanghai when he takes on number one Jannik Sinner in the final.

Jannik Sinner [1] in Novak Djokovic [4] H2H & Match Fundamentals

World number one Jannik Sinner continues to prove why he is the dominant force on the ATP tour with the Italian reaching another final after defeating Tomas Machac. The Italian has now ended the season as world number one and is looking to capture a seventh ATP title this season in this remarkable year. In order to do that Sinner will need to beat Novak Djokovic after the Serb defeated Taylor Fritz in the semi-finals and is now one win away from a 100th ATP tour title of his career.

Jannik Sinner [1] in Novak Djokovic [4] H2H: Djokovic leads 4-3
ATP Shanghai 2024 Shanghai, China
Hard (O) Prize Money: $585,000/$1,100,000
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Sinner has had the slightly tougher draw with both players only dropping one set on their way to the final.

Jannik Sinner [1] route to the final

R1: BYE

R2: Taro Daniel 6-1 6-4

R3: Tomas Martin Etcheverry [31] 6-7(3) 6-4 6-2

R4: Ben Shelton [14] 6-4 7-6(1)

QF: Daniil Medvedev [5] 6-1 6-4

SF: Tomas Machac [30] 6-4 7-5

Novak Djokovic [4] route to the final

R1: BYE

R2: Alex Michelsen 7-6(3) 7-6(9)

R3: Flavio Cobolli [28] 6-1 6-2

R4: Roman Safiullin 6-3 6-2

QF: Jakub Mensik 6-7(4) 6-1 6-4

SF: Taylor Fritz [7] 6-4 7-6(6)

Tale of the Tape – Key Stats (2024)

H2H: Jannik Sinner (WR 1) Novak Djokovic (WR 4)
Tournament Previous Best R3 (2023) Champion (2012, 2013, 2015, 2018)
1st Serve % 61.6 63.8
Service Games Won % 91.1 85.5
Break Points Saved % 73.6 65.2
2nd Serve Return Points Won % 55.8 54.8
Break Points Converted % 41.8 41

Sinner has been more clinical on serve and return but Djokovic will be confident that he can raise his game when it matters most just like he has done the entire tournament.

Playing Styles and Prediction

Sinner’s dominance on hard courts continues as he is into the Shanghai final and is guaranteed to end the season as world number one.

However the Italian will want to finish the year strongly as he has more silverware in his sights heading into the ATP Finals in Turin.

Ahead of the final Sinner spoke about ending the year as world number one but insisted there is more to come from him in the future.

“’It’s a good feeling. I’m very happy to achieve this. It was an amazing season for me, and it’s not finished yet,” Sinner explained to the ATP website.

“Tomorrow is a great final ahead, first time here in Shanghai, so I’m looking forward to it, and then we [will] see how it goes. Hopefully it’s going to be a good match.

“Being No. 1 in the world at the end of the year, it was only a dream just to become No. 1. Now finishing it, it’s also a different feeling. You cannot predict the future in one way. For me, I always try to improve as a player. For me it also depends how you start a season. If you start it in a good way like I did, winning Australia, then you have much more confidence throughout the whole season.

“The season is going amazingly, I just try to stay there every match I play, trying to find a solution somehow. That’s it. I think it’s very tough to predict the future in any case, so I’m just trying to enjoy this moment, and also trying to improve daily, and then we [will] see how it goes.”

Standing in Sinner’s way is Djokovic who is into his third final of the season after an incredible week.

Now Djokovic is one win away from a 41st Masters 1000 title and can become the third player in ATP history to win 100 career titles.

Speaking ahead of the final, Djokovic spoke about the opportunity of winning a 100th career title in Shanghai.

“I came to Shanghai after five years of not playing in China, the place where I’ve always had great success, both in Shanghai and Beijing,” Djokovic stated to the ATP website.

“[I’ve won] many titles, had great battles and great performances. I’ve said it many times, the support that I get here is tremendous and I’m very grateful. That creates an energy that keeps me going, keeps me running, so I did come here definitely with a vision and a desire to get to the final and fight for a 100th title.

“I get that chance against the best player in the world, and let’s see what happens.”

Sinner will serve aggressively and use the forehand to rush the tempo of the rallies, forcing Djokovic into uncomfortable areas of the court.

Djokovic will use intelligent returns to pin Sinner behind the baseline while using the backhand to redirect the power of Sinner’s shots.

This should be one of the best matches of the season with both players playing world class tennis this season.

However Sinner’s confidence and consistency should edge out Djokovic in crucial moments with the Italian set to win a seventh ATP title of the season.

Prediction: Sinner in three sets.

How to Watch/Follow ATP Shanghai 2024

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