RITUALS KEEP SINNER FOCUSED

As the Shanghai Masters kicks off under the gleaming lights of the Qi Zhong Stadium, Jannik Sinner arrives not merely as the defending champion but also as a singular force in men’s tennis.

- Andy Ng Correspondent

The 24-year-old Italian, who stunned Novak Djokovic in straight sets to claim the 2024 title, enters as the top seed and the biggest favourite, especially with great rival Carlos Alcaraz sidelined by an ankle injury suffered en route to the Japan Open title.

Alcaraz, who reclaimed the world No. 1 ranking after an epic US Open final win over Sinner, announced his withdrawal and cited the need for recovery. This opens a 2,580-point window in the Race to Turin for Sinner, who has won 21 of his last 30 ATP Tour finals, fresh off a Beijing title days ago.

World No. 2 Sinner’s 2025 season has been a masterclass in resilience and reinvention.

Having won his second straight Australian Open crown in January, he then suffered a crushing French Open final loss to Alcaraz - where he let slip three championship points in the fourth of five sets.

But he recovered and became the first Italian man to hoist the Wimbledon trophy in July, outlasting Alcaraz in four sets. Their rivalry did not end there, as Alcaraz edged out Sinner at the US Open, again in four sets.

Now, towards the tail end of the season, on the hard courts of Shanghai and in the absence of Alcaraz, it is the Italian who has a chance to hog the headlines again with an impressive 23-2 record on the surface.

But beyond his blistering forehand and ironclad backhand, Sinner’s dominance is built on a quirky foundation — from Lego sets to an eyebrow-raising fondness for pickle juice - that sets him apart in the intense and relentless world of tennis.