Jannik Sinner becomes first player to beat Djokovic three times in a row since Nadal in 2013

Jannik Sinner has beaten Novak Djokovic for the third time in a row, this time getting the better of the 24-time Grand Slam champion in the final of the Rolex Shanghai Masters on Sunday, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

And with that, Sinner—who had won their last two meetings in the semifinals of the Davis Cup Finals at the end of last year and in the semifinals of the Australian Open this year—has become the first player to beat Djokovic three times in a row in more than a decade.

Rafael Nadal was the last man to achieve the feat with consecutive wins at Roland Garros, Montreal and the US Open in 2013.

And there’s more.

The Italian, who was born in 2001, becomes the first player born since Djokovic to beat Djokovic three times in a row—so not just born since 2000 or 1990, but since Djokovic himself was born on May 22nd, 1987.

He’s the sixth player ever to beat Djokovic three times in a row, after Nadal, Roger Federer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Andy Murray and Andy Roddick. All of them were born before Djokovic—Murray comes the closest, born exactly one week before Djokovic on May 15th, 1987. Nadal was born in 1986, Tsonga in 1985, Roddick in 1982 and Federer in 1981.

PLAYERS TO BEAT DJOKOVIC 3+ TIMES IN A ROW (tour-level):
~ Nadal: 5x [2008-2009], 3x [2007], 3x [2008], 3x [2012], 3x [2013]
~ Federer: 4x [2006-2007], 3x [2010]
~ Roddick: 4x [2009-2010]
~ Tsonga: 4x [2008-2009]
~ Murray: 3x [2008-2009]
~ Sinner: 3x [2023-2024]

The two put on a serving display on Sunday, with only one break in 21 service games—that came in the fourth game of the second set, where Sinner broke for a 3-1 lead. The two then held the rest of the way.

The Italian finished with 22 winners to 17 unforced errors, with two very notable numbers further down the stats sheet—he went 9/9 on net points, and didn’t face a single break point in 11 service games.

“It was a very tough match, obviously. Playing against Novak is one of the toughest challenges we have, and I was very, very happy how I handled the situation,” Sinner said in his on-court interview.

“He was serving great in the first set. I really couldn’t find a way to break him. Then I played a very good breaker in the first set, which gave me the confidence to start off well in the second set.

“I’m obviously very happy about the performance throughout this whole tournament—it’s a very special one.”

Sinner captured his seventh title of the year, adding to previous triumphs at the Australian Open, Rotterdam, Miami, Halle, Cincinnati and the US Open, and it was the fourth Masters 1000 title of his career, having won Canada last year and Miami and Cincinnati this year.

It was the 17th overall title of the 23-year-old’s career.