Novak Djokovic continued his frustrating season at the Shanghai Masters as he lost the final to Jannik Sinner.
Djokovic congratulated Sinner on his win, with the Italian having edged out the Serbian 7-6(7-4), 6-3 in their Shanghai Masters final.
Sinner now has seven tour-level titles for the season, with the world number one denying Djokovic a 100th career tour-level title.
Djokovic is fourth in the ATP rankings following the conclusion of the Shanghai Masters, with the 24-time Grand Slam champion also denied a record-extending fifth title at the event.
He will be proud of his efforts, but it means his trophy cabinet for the season remains limited to the Olympic gold medal.
Rennae Stubbs notices Novak Djokovic change after Shanghai Masters final loss
That was no mean feat, with the Serbian beating Carlos Alcaraz in the final in Paris, having only just lost to the Spaniard in the Wimbledon final.
Rennae Stubbs has now analysed where she thinks Djokovic is falling short, saying on the latest episode of The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast: “Novak is making a few errors, when he didn’t used to make errors. Like a backhand shank, there were one or two times.
READ MORE: Who is Novak Djokovic? Step inside the life of the 24-time Grand Slam champion
“He never gave anything free, ever, Novak, when he was locked in and playing his best. Now he’s making a couple of little mistakes from time to time and that is all confidence. He has only made three finals this year, which is incredible, and he’s only won one tournament this year.
“Those little moments of indecision or lack of confidence in those big moments are not coming naturally to him. Now he’s having to convince himself that he’s good, whereas Jannik is like I’m good when he has lost one tiebreak in the last 20.”
Where does Novak Djokovic sit in the Race to Turin standings?
Djokovic does, of course, have nothing to prove, with the 37-year-old leading the way for Grand Slam titles in the Open Era.
He is also very likely to reach a century of tour-level titles in the near future, which would simply add to his legendary status.
But given his competitive nature, the iconic figure is unlikely to want to slow down anytime soon, meaning he could be getting increasingly frustrated with his near misses.
There was, however, a serious knee injury that disrupted his season, with Djokovic still impressing on the court despite that issue.
He will now be keen on a strong finish to 2024, with the Serbian sitting sixth in the Race to Turn standings following his fine Shanghai Masters run.
Sinner has already clinched the year-end number one spot, with Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev completing the top three.
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