DJOKOVIC WINS IN SHANGHAI, INCHES CLOSER TO TOP SPOT
SHANGHAI: The “new” Novak Djokovic warned that he was gunning for Rafael Nadal’s world number one ranking after winning the Shanghai Masters with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Borna Coric on Sunday.
The 14-time Grand Slam champion has been imperious all week and barely offered a sniff to the 19thranked Croatian, a good friend and sometime-training partner.
The end when it inevitably arrived was anti-climactic, with the Serb winning the championship point after a video review.
Djokovic buried his head in his hand at the absurdity of it.
The 31-year-old will leapfrog Roger Federer into second in the world when the rankings are released on Monday but will not stop there as the season reaches its climax.
Spanish great Nadal, who was not in Shanghai or Beijing last week because of a knee injury, will be just 215 points ahead of Djokovic in the race to finish as year-end number one.
“I could not ask for a better scenario,” Djokovic, who last sat atop the rankings two years ago, said of his late surge to the summit of men’s tennis.
“I am very close now to Nadal in the rankings and put myself in a good position for the last period of the year.”
Red-hot Djokovic has now been victorious in 18 ATP matches in a row and in recent months won Wimbledon, the Cincinnati Masters, the US Open and now Shanghai for a fourth time.
It is all a far cry from just five months ago, when Djokovic fell to 22nd in the world as he struggled following elbow surgery in February.
He missed the second half of 2017 with elbow and off-court issues, but said he had adapted his game since the operation.
Djokovic, who has been particularly dominant on his serve, not dropping one service game in Shanghai, said: “I think you’re seeing the new Novak.
Asked by AFP if he had a message for the under-pressure Nadal, the Serb smiled: “I will leave that up to your creative spirit of journalism.”
The 32-year-old Nadal could return from his latest injury for the Paris Masters, which starts at the end of this month.
Djokovic said he could play Vienna or Basel, the week before Paris, in an effort to further rein in his rankings rival.
YASTREMSKA PREVAILS
Ukrainian teenager Dayana Yastremska said on Sunday she was dreaming of a Grand Slam after she crushed Chinese number one Wang Qiang 6-2, 6-1 at the Hong Kong Open to claim her first ever title.
The 18-year-old comprehensively outplayed the world number 24 to win the tournament without losing a set all week, walking away with a cheque for $163,265 and more than doubling her career winnings at a stroke.
Wang — who has been touted by some as a potential successor to Chinese tennis icon Li Na -- was chasing her third title but was never in the match, which was over in little more than an hour.
Despite chants of “Keep going Wang Qiang!” ringing out in Cantonese round the Centre Court, the 26-year-old appeared curiously listless, the day after she had put both world number five Elina Svitolina and former Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza to the sword.
Until Sunday, Yastremska’s chief claim to fame had been 2016 Wimbledon girls singles finalist, but earlier this year she became the first player born this millennium to break into the WTA top 100 rankings.
She did not appear overwhelmed appearing in her first final, despite saying she had woken up so nervous she could not eat.
She instantly put her opponent under pressure by forcing two break points in the opening service game, eventually breaking Wang to go 4-2 up, and claimed the set with a blistering backhand return.
Yastremska started the second set in much the same style, immediately breaking Wang with a forehand winner.
But the Ukrainian’s nerves were on display in the long final game of the match, serving a total of three double faults.
She won her maiden title with a heavy serve, and stood on court for a moment looking dumbfounded.
Wang blamed fatigue for her flat performance after a frenetic summer and autumn which seen her claim two titles, a host of big name scalps and a gold medal at the Asian Games.
GARCIA TRIUMPHS
Caroline Garcia won her first title of the year as the French player defeated Karolina Pliskova to edge a nervy Tianjin Open final on Sunday.
The 16th-ranked Garcia battled through a narrow first set before streaking away in the second to beat the Czech top seed 7-6 (9/7), 6-3.
The 24-year-old Garcia -- seeded second in Tianjin -- enjoyed a breakthrough 2017, winning back-to-back titles in Wuhan and Beijing, and qualifying for the season-ending WTA Finals.
But she has struggled in comparison this year and her China Open defence in Beijing came to a meek end in the last 16, losing the deciding set 6-0 to Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus. The Tianjin title is the sixth of Garcia’s career.