tennis
Sinner and Djokovic in the final in Shanghai
Jannik Sinner reaches the final in Shanghai. photo
© Andy Wong/AP/dpa
Jannik Sinner remains in impressive form. The world number one can hope for the next big title. In the final there will be a top duel with Novak Djokovic.
Sunday’s final is the eighth duel between Sinner and Djokovic. Sinner has won three of the last four meetings. Even in view of Djokovic’s obvious physical problems, the outstanding tennis player of the year so far is a slight favorite.
Djokovic is aiming for his 100th title
Djokovic, who played with a bandage around his right knee, which had surgery in June, had to be treated in a medical timeout when the score was 5:6 in the second set. The 24-time Grand Slam tournament winner was obviously suffering from muscular problems in the hip and buttocks area. In the subsequent tiebreak, Fritz missed a few chances and ultimately suffered his tenth defeat in his tenth duel with Djokovic.
“I’m doing my best to regenerate well. I had a few physical problems here and there today and yesterday,” said the 37-year-old Djokovic, who can win the 100th title of his glorious career in the final against Sinner: ” I have the chance against the best player in the world. Let’s see what happens.”
Sinner went into his semi-final with warning given Machac’s quarter-final win against Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz. “We all saw how much talent he had. I had to be very careful,” he said.
Machac, seeded at number 30, initially held up well and immediately took the serve away from the favorite. However, Sinner quickly equalized to make it 2-2 and benefited from several mistakes made by his opponent at the end of the set.
Curious scene
In the second round, when the score was 5:4 for Sinner, a strange scene occurred when the frame of Machac’s racket broke and he, with a wink, accused his opponent of playing too fast. But the South Tyrolean Sinner remained confident afterwards and won the game after 1:42 hours.
Sinner had already won the Masters tournaments in Miami and Cincinnati this season and also secured the titles at the Australian Open and US Open. The 23-year-old will end the tennis year as number one.
Sinner still faces a ban despite an acquittal after two positive doping tests. The World Anti-Doping Agency Wada recently appealed the case to the International Court of Arbitration for Sports in Lausanne.