Novak Djokovic's nod to Roger Federer after being denied landmark feat by Jannik Sinner in Shanghai

Novak Djokovic's bid to become just the third man to win 100 singles titles has been dashed as he was comprehensively beaten by World No.1 Jannik Sinner in the Shanghai Masters final 7-6 (4) 6-3. The Serb had been hoping to reach the landmark milestone in Shanghai, joining Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) in the exclusive 100-club but couldn't overcome the Italian.

On Sunday, there were no break points in a tense opening set where both players dominated on serve. Djokovic - who has 24-times grand slam titles among his haul - gave away just five points in six service games in a hot start, while Sinner was equally perfect on serve. It took a tiebreak to separate the pair in the first set and Sinner - who has won almost 70 per cent of the tiebreakers he has played in the past year - took the first four points before clinching the first set when a Djokovic return flew wide.

In the second set, Djokovic's serve lost a lot of its potency and two-time grand slam champion capitalised, breaking early for a 3-1 lead and from there never looked in doubt, wrapping up the title in just 97 minutes. The win sees Sinner draw level with Djokovic in the budding tennis rivalry, with each player winning four of the eight matches against the other. The victory also wrapped up the Italian's seventh ATP title in 2024 and locked up the World No.1 ranking for the year-end ATP Finals.

After Sinner thwarted Djokovic's bid to win a 100th tournament, the Serb post-match put the defeat down to several factors, one of them being Federer's presence in the stands. Federer recently arrived in Shanghai for promotions with brands like Uniqlo and On and the Swiss maestro took some time out of his busy schedule to watch the first semifinal between Sinner and Tomas Machac and then the final between Djokovic and the Italian.

Federer was joined in the crowd by four-time grand slam champion Carlos Alcaraz and Djokovic noted he couldn't remember the tennis great watching one of his matches before, jokingly saying the pressure of playing in front of him clearly got to him. "It is nice to see you, Roger," the Serb said. "I wish you were here playing on the court with us but it is probably the first time I am playing in front of you. So I had added pressure today but it's great, thanks for being here." Tennis on social media were delighted to see Djokovic and Federer in the same stadium, as they expressed their admiration for the two and noted the clear respect between the pair.

Djokovic is still seeking to become the third man to achieve the century feat but the 37-year-old played down the significance of that particular milestone after defeat in Shanghai, adding: "That's a bonus, if that can happen. I definitely wished for it to happen today, but it wasn't meant to be. "I've got to keep striving to make it happen somewhere in the near future, hopefully. It's not a live-or-die type of goal for me.

"I think I've achieved all of my biggest goals in career. Right now it's really about grand slams and about seeing how far I can kind of push the bar for myself."

Novak Djokovic says he is nearing 100 per cent again

Despite ultimately failing to secure the ultimate goal of another ATP title, the Serb says he finally feels his tennis is returning back to its best. "I think the level of my tennis was really good this tournament, probably best after the Olympics in terms of how I played, how I performed, how I fought," Djokovic said following the defeat to Sinner.

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"I did my best tonight. Under the circumstances, I felt maybe not a hundred per cent fresh, but big credit to Jannik for playing the big points better than me, and that's what made the difference. He deserved to win, he was just too strong in important moments.

"I still think that in the final today I played pretty good, which gives me reason to believe that I can still play with these guys that are the best in the world. Hopefully, I can maintain that level in the upcoming months, and also for the future." Djokovic is next in action in the October 16-19 'Six Kings Slam', a tennis exhibition in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia which will also feature Sinner, Rafa Nadal, Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune.

with AAP