Novak Djokovic refuses to answer Jannik Sinner question as he prepares for showdown | Tennis | Sport

Novak Djokovic will contest just his second final of the year on Sunday as he seeks a milestone 100th career title.

The 37-year-old is set to face world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the championship match at the Shanghai Masters.

But he refused to give away his game plan before their eighth career meeting.

Djokovic will be out for revenge when he faces Sinner on Sunday. The Serb leads their head-to-head 4-3 but he’s lost three of their last four matches including their only previous encounter in 2024 – the Australian Open semi-final.

Sinner will also be the higher-ranked, more in-form player when they play for the Shanghai Masters title. And Djokovic knows he will need to bring it if he wants to lift his fifth trophy at the tournament.

After booking his spot in the final, the world No. 4 was asked what he had to do against Sinner but he refused to give a straight answer. “Well, I won’t share that with you,” Djokovic replied.

“But as I said, he’s in form the last 12 months, best player in the world, incredible tennis, just so consistent, and player to beat, no doubt, particularly on hard court.

“He knows my game, I know his game. We haven’t played since Australia this year. Yeah, I’m hoping for the best, you know, it’s going to take my highest level to win.”

Djokovic has extra motivation going into the match – he’s playing for his 100th career title. And the Serb admitted he had been hoping to reach his landmark goal in Shanghai.

He continued: “In China, it feels like a destiny to fight for a 100th title here in a place where I’ve had great success in the past, where I have tremendous support.

“And very grateful, especially tonight, the atmosphere was electric, people were really backing me all the way through. So, yeah, it’s great to play in such atmosphere, you know, and just gets me going and motivates me to push even harder.

“Yeah, I’m in a great position to win the title, you know, fighting for my 100th title overall, and 41st Masters, against the best player in the world.”

But the 24-time Grand Slam champion is well aware that it will be a rare occasion in which he’s the underdog.

“I won’t be a favourite on the court, but hopefully I’ll be able to come out physically fresh enough, you know, to challenge him for what may be, you know, the long match,” he said.

“I have to expect probably the toughest encounter of the tournament, and I have to be ready for it, so I look forward to a great challenge.”