SHANGHAI, October 14, 2018
No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic captured his 32nd ATP Masters 1000 title against first-time ATP Masters 1000 finalist Borna Coric of Croatia at the Rolex Shanghai Masters on Sunday. The 31-year-old Serbian emerged victorious 6-3, 6-4.
Djokovic sent down seven aces, saved the only break point he faced and converted two of his own to prevail after one hour and 36 minutes.
Champion in Shanghai!@DjokerNole continues the love affair with China 6-3 6-4 over borna Coric.#RolexSHMasters pic.twitter.com/UhGWJNQLPK
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) 14. Oktober 2018
“Maybe from the past life. maybe I was Chinese in the past life. I wouldn’t be surprised, to be honest, with the way I feel here and the way I communicate and have relationship with the people. It’s all very, very positive, for more than ten years that I have been coming to China. There is something special about this place that makes me feel like at home,” Djokovic explained his success in China – winning 11 titles in 11 finals and all four Rolex Shanghai Masters finals he’s played.
Mercedes Benz Fun Fact of the day
With its position close to the end of the tennis season, the Rolex Shanghai Masters often figures into the battle for year-end No. 1. While 26 men have achieved the No. 1 ranking since 1973, only 17 have been year-end No. 1, a testament to consistently stellar play throughout the calendar year. It certainly comes with plenty of bragging rights. The record of six year-end No.1s belongs to Pete Sampras. Roger Federer and Jimmy Connors have five. Reigning year-end No. 1 Rafael Nadal and current world No. 2 Novak Djokovic the front runners to tie Roger and Jimmy this year.
