Jannik Sinner has narrowly missed out on joining Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in an elite club after winning the Shanghai Masters. The 23-year-old cruised to a straight-sets victory over Djokovic in Sunday’s final to maintain his impressive form in 2024.
Sinner began the year in style by winning his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. He went on to pick up a Masters 1000 title in Miami before reaching the semi-finals of the French Open, where he was beaten by eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.
At Wimbledon, he was dumped out by Daniil Medvedev in the last eight before he was forced to miss the Olympics due to illness. Sinner returned to winning ways at the US Open and claimed another piece of silverware in Shanghai last weekend.
Sinner’s emphatic victory over Djokovic confirmed that he will finish the year at the top of the ATP rankings. Only two players have locked in the No 1 spot quicker than Sinner, with Nadal achieving the feat in record time before Djokovic surpassed him in 2015.
Nadal won three Grand Slam titles in 2010, securing glory at the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. It allowed him to wrap up the year-end top spot in September, a record which stood until Djokovic beat it by a few days five years later.
It remains to be seen if Sinner will be able to do even better next year, with the Italian ahead of Alcaraz in the race to become the defining star of the new era. Both players have been tipped to dominate the sport in years to come but Sinner has the edge at the moment.
Alcaraz beat Sinner in the final of the China Open earlier this month but was unable to replicate those heroics in Shanghai. He suffered a surprise defeat to Tomas Machac in the quarter-finals, with Sinner avoiding any slip-ups on his way to the title.
The Spaniard did not make any excuses in his post-match interview, giving full credit to Machac for outplaying him in straight sets.
“His level was so high,” said Alcaraz. “I thought that he was going to give me an opportunity, a window, but he didn’t. From the first game until the last one, his level was so high. His ball speed, it was unbelievable.
“Honestly, I felt good on the court. I felt the ball really well, I was hitting well, I was moving well. But, at some points, I didn’t know what to do.”
