Jannik Sinner's rise was confirmed also at the Shanghai Rolex Masters: the young Italian beat Novak Djokovic in the final and won his 17th career title, the third ATP Masters 1000 of the season and the 4th overall.
At the press conference, the Italian revealed what was the key to achieving this success, despite the off-court events that are affecting his public image related to the Clostebol doping-issue, with WADA that has appealed to CAS against the independent tribunal's verdict on behalf of ITIA. The young Italian risks a 1 or 2 year ban.
But this victory - which came in front of Roger Federer, present in the stands of the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena to watch the final - has sweetened the situation created around Jannik.
"Today was a very special day, for several reasons. Having Roger in the stands, with Carlos Alcaraz and Juan Carlos Ferrero, and the atmosphere that was created was very, very beautiful. Playing against Novak, in a final is always very, very difficult, so I'm happy with how I handled this type of situation," he explained.
Sinner then went on to talk about the difficulties he experienced after the WADA ruling.
"This year has been very, very difficult for me because of other circumstances and at some moments I lost my smile a little bit because I had some problems off the court, which sometimes come back to me. But I tried to enjoy myself as best as I could on the court. And, of course, success is something great. So, I just try to stay very calm and not worry if I miss some shots or if I'm unlucky sometimes, I just try to keep pushing with the best energy possible. I try to control what I can control, and that's definitely the mind, and also the physical aspect that you can control," he added.
The Italian explained what was the key to achieving this success: "People think that by winning or being successful you don't have problems, but that's not true, because the situation I'm in now off the court, obviously, is not comfortable. In this period I've learned that success will never change me as a person, or as a player."
Regarding the end of the season and his physical condition, Jannik analyzed: "Physically I feel ready to play for a longer period at the highest level possible. Mentally I am also ready to accept every difficult situation on the court, and I think this is the biggest step forward I have made. I try to stay as calm as possible and continue working hard, no matter if the week is good or bad, but I try to improve every day, every chance I get, trying new things, trying to see new things, in the worst case seeing what works and what doesn't work. I feel like this has had a big impact for me this year and I hope it will help me for next year as well."
At the on-court interview, the young Italian said: "Hello everyone. First of all, I want to congratulate Novak for the incredible tennis he played this week. Congratulations also to your team. I also know someone from your team! I wish you the best for this end of the season and for the goals you can still achieve in the future, also here in Shanghai next year. Thanks also to my team for the enormous support. We are maturing as a team day after day, it's nice to be here with you. I aim to return next year to Shanghai to try to defend the title."
No one has won more matches (65), titles (7), ATP Masters 1000 (3) and Slam (2, like Carlitos Alcaraz - ed.) than Jannik Sinner, in 2024. As mentioned, the Italian won his 17th career trophy, the 7th of the season. In the final, he beat Djokovic for the third time in a row, bringing the score to 4-4 in the head-to-head. The Italian can therefore celebrate yet another career record in the best possible way, because during the Chinese event he became the first Italian in the history of tennis to officially close the season as ATP No.1. There are two major goals that he will try to achieve in the coming weeks: winning the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin in front of the home crowd and defending the Davis Cup title.
