Djokovic vs. Coric: What's on the line in the Shanghai final

WATCH—Novak Djokovic dismisses Alexander Zverev in Shanghai:

There’s going to be a lot on the line on Sunday as Novak Djokovic squares off against Borna Coric in the final of Shanghai, the second-to-last ATP Masters 1000 event of the season.

First of all, Djokovic can get within striking distance of No.1 Rafael Nadal on both the ATP World Tour Rankings and ATP Race To London by winning the title. If he beats Coric and lifts the trophy, he’ll be just 215 points away from Nadal in the rankings and only 35 points away in the race.

Djokovic is already guaranteed to pass Roger Federer for No. 2 in the rankings by reaching the final.

“Being No. 2 after this tournament is a great achievement considering the first four or five months of the year,” Djokovic, who was ranked No. 21 when he went into Wimbledon, told ATPWorldTour.com.

“Where I was about four months ago and where I am today is quite an extreme opposite.”

Djokovic hasn’t just won his last 17 matches in a row, he’s actually 26-1 since the start of Wimbledon and 30-2 since the start of the grass court season. More specifically to this upcoming match against Coric, he’s 10-0 lifetime in finals in China (he’s has won Shanghai three times, the ATP 500-level event in Beijing six times and the ATP Finals once, in 2008, when it was held in Shanghai).

The Serb also hasn’t been broken all tournament—he’s held all 37 of his service games this week, facing just three break points (two against Marco Cecchinato and one against Kevin Anderson).

Djokovic will be going for his 32nd career Masters 1000 title (Nadal holds the record with 33).

Meanwhile, Coric has already had a career week. His win over Federer was the third-biggest win of his career, having beaten two No. 1s before (Andy Murray in Madrid last year and Federer in Halle earlier this year). Coric is also through to the biggest final of his career, his biggest before this being at the ATP 500-level event in Halle this year (where he beat Federer for the title).

The Croat will be going for his sixth career win over a player ranked in the Top 3 when he faces Djokovic on Sunday, and he’s also guaranteed to set a new career-high ranking himself: win or lose, the world No. 19 will jump to No. 13, surpassing his previous career-high of No. 18.

WATCH—Borna Coric upsets Roger Federer in Shanghai:

“It’s huge for me,” Coric said after his win over Federer. “Obviously I didn’t expect this. I came to China and lost two first rounds. And I wasn’t feeling very well when I was coming into this tournament—my neck was feeling kind of sore. But this win was one of the best matches of my whole life.”

Coric has wins over every player in the Big Four except Djokovic. Coincidentally, he now has identical 2-2 head-to-head records against Federer, Nadal and Murray—but he’s 0-2 against Djokovic.

If he beats the Serb, he’ll be the 10th active player to have wins over every member of the Big Four (the nine active players who’ve done it already are: Juan Martin del Potro, Marin Cilic, Dominic Thiem, Kei Nishikori, Gilles Simon, Nick Kyrgios, Stan Wawrinka, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Tomas Berdych).

This Week on Tennis Channel Plus 10/8

Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev headline the ATP Rolex Shanghai Masters. Watch live coverage from 5 courts on Tennis Channel PLUS beginning Saturday 10/6 at 12:00am ET.

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