Jannik Sinner's bid for a seventh title in 2024 pits him against four-time Shanghai Masters champion Novak Djokovic in Sunday's championship match.
The pair face off for the first time since the Italian's four-set triumph in the Australian Open semi-final en route to a thrilling comeback victory against Daniil Medvedev to clinch his maiden Grand Slam success.
Match preview
Sinner recovered from a false start in Saturday's semi-final against in-form Tomas Machac to record a 6-4, 7-5 victory over the Czech player and advance to his eighth final of 2024 after confirming his year-end No. 1 ranking.
Although he was broken in the opening game of the match, the 23-year-old Italian rallied to notch two breaks of serve against his aggressive opponent, whose ball-striking on his forehand wing was not as impeccable in the last-four match as it was when he stunned Carlos Alcaraz in the quarters.
Machac's 33 unforced errors were significantly more than Sinner's nine, with the top-seeded superstar minimising his slip-ups and coping impressively on the big points to advance to his third Masters 1000 championship match this season.
Having clinched success in Miami and Cincinnati, the hard-court specialist seeks a third ATP 1000 crown in 2024 and fourth overall against a player he has fared well against in the past 12 months.
Sinner stunned an off-colour Djokovic in their semi-final match-up Down Under at the Aussie Open ahead of his maiden Slam final, defeating the 24-time Grand Slam champion in four sets without facing a break point, and a repeat performance on Sunday may seal his first title in Shanghai.
The four-time champion of the concluding event is seeking a fifth success at the Italian No. 1's expense, keen to join Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) in the 100-plus titles club in his 59th Masters 1000 final.
The 37-year-old notched an expected win in straight sets over US Open runner-up Taylor Fritz for a 10th consecutive triumph over the American player despite a troublesome knee threatening to prolong the semi-final battle.
However, Djokovic dug deep to earn a 6-4, 7-6(6) win over the 26-year-old to set up a mouthwatering showdown in Sunday's final against the ATP Tour's leading player in 2024.
While the season has been underwhelming by his high standards, the Serbian has responded admirably on his return to this event after a five-year absence to earn his place in his 141st ATP final, trailing Connors (164), Federer (157) and Ivan Lendl (146).
Djokovic is unbeaten in Shanghai deciders, securing titles against Andy Murray (2012), Juan Martin del Potro (2013), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2015) and Borna Coric (2018), and the 40-time Masters 1000 champion aims for a fifth consecutive success in the championship match of the China-based event to clinch a milestone 100th Tour-level triumph.
Tournament so far
Jannik Sinner:
First round: Bye
Second round: vs. Taro Daniel 6-1 6-4
Third round: vs. Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-7[3] 6-4 6-2
Round of 16: vs. Ben Shelton 6-4 7-6[1]
Quarter-final: vs. Daniil Medvedev 6-1 6-4
Semi-final: vs. Tomas Machac 6-4 7-5
Novak Djokovic:
First round: Bye
Second round: vs. Alex Michelsen 7-6[3] 7-6[9]
Third round: vs. Flavio Cobolli 6-1 6-2
Round of 16: vs. Roman Safiullin 6-3 6-2
Quarter-final: vs. Jakub Mensik 6-7[4] 6-1 6-4
Semi-final: vs. Taylor Fritz 6-4 7-6[6]
Head To Head
Australian Open (2024) - Semi-final: Sinner 6-1 6-2 6-7(6) 6-3
Davis Cup Finals (2023) - Semi-final: Sinner 6-2 2-6 7-5
ATP Finals (2023) - Final: Djokovic 6-3 6-3
ATP Finals (2023) - Round Robin: Sinner 7-5 6-7(5) 7-6(2)
Wimbledon (2023) - Semi-final: Djokovic 6-3 6-4 7-6(4)
Wimbledon (2022) - Quarter-final: Djokovic 5-7 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-2
Monte-Carlo Masters (2021) - Round of 32: Djokovic 6-4 6-2
Although Djokovic leads this head-to-head 4-3, that statistic does not tell the complete story.
Sinner lost his first three meetings with the Serbian on Tour, including a 2022 Wimbledon quarter-final, despite winning the opening two sets, but has roared back to notch three wins in their past four match-ups.
The Italian star's hard-court record in 2024 is 44-3, with Alcaraz (twice) and Andrey Rublev inflicting his three losses this season, and he aims to claim a 45th triumph over the former No. 1.
We say: Djokovic to win in three sets
Even though his perfect 6-0 record in finals was snapped by Alcaraz at the China Open, Sinner has maintained his exceptional form in reaching another final and proving his ability to bounce back from setbacks.
Although the No. 1 player enters Sunday's decider as the favourite, Djokovic has shown that his advanced years do not prevent him from competing with and beating the top two leading players on Tour, as underscored by a stunning performance to defeat Alcaraz at the Paris Olympics.
Motivated with a 100th title within reach, the 37-year-old is backed to get the better of an opponent 14 years his junior and record a milestone success in Shanghai.
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