Jannik Sinner has no time to enjoy his China Open victory, with the Shanghai Masters his next assignment.
Sinner beat Learner Tien in a comprehensive fashion, with the teenager competing in his first final on the ATP Tour.
After the match, Sinner had a message for Tien and given the potential the youngster has, the pair will almost certainly do battle again in the future.
Sinner has had to tweak some things since losing the US Open final to Carlos Alcaraz, but now he looks firmly in the zone to finish the season with a flourish.
Photo by Hu Chengwei/Getty ImagesJannik Sinner shares if he’s happy with the changes he’s made since the US Open
Sinner has now won 18 of his 21 titles on hard courts, and that is quite remarkable.
After losing the US Open final in September, Sinner went back to the practice court and began working on some bits and pieces ahead of the Asian swing.
Clearly, they have paid dividends, with Sinner now on course to return to the world number one spot.
Speaking in his press conference ahead of his opening match at the Shanghai Masters, he admitted he has been forced to work on some things after his latest Grand Slam defeat.
He said: “Yeah, I mean, I’m not the only one who is changing. If you ask every player, every player is changing stuff and trying to get better. You know, whatever we try to do, it’s not crazy steps, just trying to adjust a couple of things, trying to get better as a player, like everyone else does.
“Yeah, I mean, that’s it. Certain shots that worked slightly better than the months before, certain shots we can still improve. But it’s also normal, and I’m just looking forward to having as many matches as possible in every tournament.
“This also gives me the chance to try as many things as possible. So, let’s see, but, yeah, we are quite happy with the work we are doing.”
Jannik Sinner makes claim about the ATP Tour scheduling
Alcaraz has bemoaned the tour this week after being required to pull out of the Shanghai Masters, and Sinner has now been quizzed on things.
The world number two said: “Yeah, I mean, I don’t want to criticise anything. For me, everyone thinks in different ways. We can still, as I always say, choose, you know, as players, you just have to understand what the priority is for ourselves.
“I always made choices, even last year, you know, sometimes jumping some tournaments. The schedule is what it is. If you want to play a tournament, you have to play a tournament. If not, you make another choice to rest or practice, you know, that’s it. So, yeah, it is what it is.”
Sinner must now win in Shanghai and in Vienna if he’s to reclaim his place at the summit of the world rankings.