Rising Serb

Shanghai, October 14 

Novak Djokovic is within touching distance of Rafa Nadal’s No. 1 ranking after winning the Shanghai Masters with a 6-3 6-4 victory over Borna Coric on Sunday.

The 14-time Grand Slam champion broke the 19th-ranked Croatian — a good friend and sometime-training partner — in the sixth game of the first set on the way to another no-nonsense victory. The end 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 and is in imperious form as the season reaches its climax. 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. The last four months had been “fantastic” and “tremendous”, he said.

“I’m cherishing every moment of it,” Djokovic told the crowd, calling Shanghai “a special place” to him.

“I could not ask for a better scenario,” Djokovic 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.” 

Coric, 21, said that he had no complaints about losing to “one of the best in the history of tennis”. In what was the biggest match of his life, he wore heavy strapping on one thigh and has been troubled by a stiff neck that saw him ponder pulling out before the tournament. But he refused to blame those for defeat to the man he considers something of an idol. — AFP

Garcia beats Pliskova, wins year’s first title 

Beijing: 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 (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. The Tianjin title is the sixth of Garcia’s career. AFP

Paes wins season’s second title

New Delhi: Leander Paes is still going great guns as the veteran won his second Challenger-level title of the season, lifting the Santo Domingo Open trophy with partner Miguel Angel Reyyes-Varela. The second-seeded Indian-Mexican pair, playing its second consecutive final, came from behind to beat Ariel Behar and Roberto Quiroz 4-6 6-3 10-5 in the summit clash. Paes, who is ranked 69, added 110 ranking points to his kitty and shared a prize purse of $7750 with his partner. Last week, the 45-year-old Paes and Reyyes-Varela ended runners-up at Montrrey Challenger to Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan and Marcelo Arevalo. Paes had won the Newport Beach event in January. PTI