Tennis fans were disappointed to miss out on the blockbuster match between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters 2024, as the Spaniard was eliminated in the quarter-finals. However, the disappointment was soon offset, as Sinner will face Novak Djokovic in the final.
And while Alcaraz has played Sinner a few times, the Italian's first meeting with Djokovic since the Australian Open in January makes this match even more meaningful and interesting.
The Melbourne match was seen as a pivotal moment in defining the momentum of this season, with Sinner's resounding victory in the first Grand Slam semi-final of the year giving him the confidence to dominate the tour throughout the year.
For Djokovic, the defeat raised questions about his status in the ATP rankings, and he has struggled to regain his form since then.
This is Sinner's eighth final of 2024 - remarkable considering he has only played 14. Sinner had a perfect record in finals until losing to Alcaraz in Beijing 11 days ago.
Although Sinner had a stellar season with impressive numbers, he had not faced truly formidable opponents in the finals until the event in Beijing.
Four of Sinner's seven finals have come against players ranked outside the Top 10.
For Djokovic, this is only the third final in 2024, after Wimbledon and the Olympics, with Alcaraz as his opponent (1 win, 1 loss).
The Serbian has extended his streak of reaching at least one Masters final for the 14th year in a row. With a win over Sinner, he will continue his incredible run of winning at least one ATP title every year since 2006, the year he won his first ATP title.
And the victory will also be the 100th trophy of Nole's career.
Djokovic leads 4-3 in their head-to-head matches, but on hard courts, Sinner has the better result, 3-1.
Link to watch Sinner vs Djokovic live:
https://www.vtvcab.vn/channel/on-sports-1,VTVcab3_HD.html
