Shanghai Masters Archives

Djokovic vanquishes exhaustion to push through to Shanghai quarterfinals

Novak Djokovic banished exhaustion and played through an ankle injury scare to make it to the quarterfinals of the Shanghai Masters on Tuesday, beating Spain’s Jaume Munar 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.

The hard-won victory keeps Djokovic on track as the favourite to take a record-extending fifth title in the Chinese financial hub, with other top seeds already withdrawn or knocked out.

The 38-year-old almost looked unable to continue when the match went to a decider, but he conjured up the energy to break his decade-younger opponent twice in the third set.

“Thank you, thank you everyone, I love you!” he shouted in Chinese to the adoring crowd before leaving court almost immediately after play finished.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion had a good start despite the 84 percent humidity, breaking in the fourth game.

His problems began shortly afterwards when his left ankle slid out behind him as he rushed towards the net, and he had to take a medical timeout.

He grimaced in pain as he was attended to by an on-court physio, but managed to resume to hold the fifth game.

Djokovic received treatment again in the second set, and looked increasingly fatigued, crouching over frequently in between rallies and throwing up on court.

Serbian-flag-waving Chinese fans roared in support, but 41st-ranked Munar ultimately broke in the 12th game of the second set after an unforced error from his opponent.

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An agonised Djokovic dropped to the floor and remained splayed out on court with his chest heaving, as a medic rushed over.

But he picked himself up for an incredible third-set revival, breaking in the first and seventh games and sending the stadium into a frenzy.

Djokovic is now the oldest player to reach an ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal, and the highest-ranking player left in the competition in Shanghai.

World number one Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from the tournament to rest, and second, third and fourth-ranked Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz have all been eliminated.

The event in Shanghai has been beset by injuries, as players have battled the humidity coupled with temperatures over 30 Celsius.

Sinner was forced to retire on Sunday after being seized with extreme cramps.

World number 11 Holger Rune, who has also struggled with the conditions, called on Tuesday for tennis authorities to bring in a heat policy for events like Shanghai.

The Dane is through to the last eight after he took out France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-4, 6-7 (7/9), 6-3.

Djokovic will next face 44th-ranked Zizou Bergs.

The Belgian took Canada’s Gabriel Diallo down to the wire, prevailing in a prolonged third-set tiebreak 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10/8).

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Jannik Sinner wins Shanghai Masters to deny Novak Djokovic 100th career title

World number one Jannik Sinner defeated 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 on Sunday to win the Shanghai Masters.

Sinner took a crucial break in the fourth game of the second set to defeat the Serb in 1hr 37min and deny him a 100th career singles title.

“He was just too good today, too strong, too fast,” said Djokovic after the match.

Sinner saluted his opponent as a “legend” who kept playing “incredible tennis… year after year”.

In a nod to former Djokovic rival Roger Federer, who was watching from the stands, the 23-year-old joked: “There are legends everywhere, I just try to keep up a little bit.”

Facing off before an impassioned crowd, neither player blinked in the first set, unable to break the other’s serve.

In the tiebreak Sinner quickly took control, breaking Djokovic’s serve on the first point and going 5-1 up.

The Serb steadied himself but then netted a volley to bring up set point at 6-3. Sinner failed to convert initially but didn’t miss the second time behind serve.

The next key moment came in the fourth game of the second set when Sinner was up 40-15 on Djokovic’s serve.

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Djokovic saved one break point with a fiery ace, but couldn’t stop a superb forehand down the line from Sinner that saw him pull ahead.

All that remained was for the Italian to hold his nerve, hitting an ace to finish the match and claim the title.

Sinner’s triumph caps off a formidable year, in which he has won two Grand Slams and retained the top spot in the rankings since June.

But it is also a year that has seen him embroiled in controversy after he twice tested positive for a banned steroid in March.

In August, the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted Sinner’s explanation that the drug entered his system unintentionally when his physiotherapist used a spray containing it to treat a cut, and then provided massage and sports therapy to the player.

But last month the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) said it would appeal the decision to clear him of wrongdoing and was seeking a ban of up to two years.

That news came as Sinner was contesting the China Open, where he lost in the final to Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, who was also watching from the stands on Sunday.

He admitted coming into the Shanghai tournament that he was “not in a situation where I feel comfortable in it”.

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Djokovic to face Sinner in Shanghai final with 100th title in sight

Novak Djokovic battled through “an incredible fight” with Taylor Fritz on Saturday, shrugging off physical discomfort to set up a Shanghai Masters final with world number one Jannik Sinner where he will look to secure his 100th career title.

Novak Djokovic saw off Fritz 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) after Sinner had beaten Tomas Machac 6-4, 7-5, ensuring in the process that he will finish the year at the top of the rankings.

“It feels like destiny to fight for a 100th title here in a place where I’ve had great success in the past, where I have tremendous support,” said four-time Shanghai champion Djokovic.

Only Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) have previously broken through the 100-title barrier in the men’s game.

“I won’t be a favourite on the court, but hopefully I’ll be able to come out physically fresh enough to challenge him for what may be a long match,” added Djokovic of Sunday’s final.

“I have to expect probably the toughest encounter of the tournament, and I have to be ready for it.”

Jannik Sinner said playing Novak Djokovic would make the final “even more special”.

“It’s going to be a very tough one, it’s one of the biggest challenges we have in our sport,” he said.

Djokovic has now beaten the United States’ Fritz at each of their 10 encounters.

The Serb broke the 26-year-old US Open finalist in the fifth game to win the first set in 38 minutes.

But the second set lasted twice as long, and was a much more tense affair, as the players sent each other scrambling across the court in a series of thrilling rallies.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion called it an “incredible fight”.

“He could have easily won the second set… In the tiebreak it was really anyone’s game, (but) I feel like I was never giving up,” Djokovic said.

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In the second set, after an almost 13-minute fifth game eventually held by Fritz, Djokovic bent over in exhaustion, breathing heavily.

The world number seven missed a good chance in the eighth game when he failed to convert a break point, with Djokovic recovering to hold.

“I just never really came up with what I needed to come up with in a lot of big moments and the big points,” said the American.

Novak Djokovic came from 3-5 down in the tiebreak to level and then win after three unforced errors from Fritz.

The 37-year-old, who has been wearing a brace on his right knee and has been having trouble with his left one too, had to take a medical time-out for his left leg towards the end of the second set.

However, he said after the match none of the issues were serious.

After physio, “I could move freely and run and sprint, which is good news”, he said.

“I guess at this age you kind of have to expect that each match something different happens physically.”

The 23-year-old Sinner has been top of the world rankings since June and after his ruthless semi-final victory will stay there until at least the end of the season, the first Italian to do so.

“It was only a dream just to become number one… Now finishing (the year there) is also a different feeling,” the Italian said.

“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,” he said, adding that for now he was “focused on tomorrow”.

Sinner’s meeting with Machac got off to an electric start when the Czech broke in the first game of their semi-final.

The 33rd-ranked Machac was looking to repeat his giant-slaying of Thursday, when he knocked out world number two Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets.

But two-time Grand Slam champion Sinner kept his cool to break back in the fourth, then claimed the tenth game to clinch the set.

In the second set neither was able to break serve until the 12th game, when the Italian hit a winner to book his place in Sunday’s final.

“It was very tough… he is playing with so much confidence and he can hit a ball really hard, and is serving very well,” said Sinner.

“I tried to stay there mentally… I’m very happy about how I’m fighting at the moment.”

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Djokovic ‘shakes rust off’ to make third round of Shanghai Masters

Novak Djokovic said it took time to “get the rust off” as he fought through two tiebreaks to make his way into the third round of the Shanghai Masters on Saturday.

The Serbian beat American Alex Michelsen in a thrilling two-set match that finished 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (11/9).

Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz showed why they were top in the world as they raced through to the next stage with confident straight-set wins.

Sinner dispatched Japan’s Taro Daniel 6-1, 6-4, while Alcaraz made short work of China’s Shang Juncheng, winning 6-2, 6-2.

Four-time Shanghai champion Djokovic did not have it quite so easy against 43rd-ranked Michelsen.

Introduced as the “Greatest Of All Time” as he walked onto the court, he received a rapturous welcome from the packed stadium.

But Michelsen started the first set strongly, breaking Djokovic early and going 1-4 up –- to the displeasure of the crowd, fully behind the 37-year-old former world number one.

To their delight, the Serbian levelled, and then hit his stride in the tiebreak, winning it 7-3.

The reverse happened in the second set when it was 20-year-old Michelsen’s turn to catch up to take it to the tiebreak.

Novak Djokovic admitted to being “surprised” by Michelsen.

“It took me a little bit of time to get the rust off and to start feeling better on the court,” he said.

“I was very glad to keep calm when it mattered in both tiebreaks.”

The crowd, already in a frenzy after Novak Djokovic spoke Mandarin at the end of the match, went wild as he showed off a new trick — attempting a sentence in the Shanghainese vernacular.

World number one Sinner has said he is not in a “comfortable” situation thanks to a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appeal against a decision by tennis authorities to clear him of wrongdoing after he twice tested positive for a steroid in March.

His recent blistering winning streak was broken by Alcaraz in the China Open final on Wednesday.

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But there was no tiredness on display from either player on Saturday, with 23-year-old Sinner looking completely unruffled in the first set against the 93rd-ranked Daniel.

Daniel fell behind again in the second set and despite rallying halfway through to gently test Sinner, the Italian kept his cool, ending the set 6-4.

Sinner will face Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry on Sunday.

“It will be a tough one tomorrow, very physical, because me and Tomas know each other quite well now,” he said.

Earlier, arch-rival Alcaraz also looked comfortable throughout, breaking in the first game, with teenager Shang unable to make much headway against the world number two.

Despite their enthusiasm for Shang, the crowd could not resist Alcaraz’s charm.

At the Spaniard’s encouragement, they broke into loud cheers when he won a particularly exciting rally in which he hit a tricky backwards shot to keep the point alive.

“I just had one practice then was straight into this match, so to be able to show this level in the first match, I’m just really proud,” 21-year-old Alcaraz said after the match.

He will next face another Chinese player, wildcard Wu Yibing.

There were no surprises either for the tournament’s second seed Alexander Zverev, who won 6-4, 6-2 against Italy’s Mattia Bellucci.

“Everything is ok when you win… I was very uncertain of my level before this tournament started,” the German said, referencing recent health problems that saw him miss the China Open.

The tournament lost its second top-ten player on Saturday, as Andrey Rublev fell to 19-year-old Czech Jakub Mensik.

The Russian, a finalist at last year’s Shanghai Masters, roared in jubilation after winning a tiebreaker to take the first set.

But 65th-ranked Mensik broke Rublev in the first game of the second set, and again in the fifth to draw even.

The Czech then came from behind in the third to beat the world number six for the second time this year, with a final score of 6-7 (7/9), 6-4, 6-3.

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