"Novak Djokovic is 37, you start to lose that dominance": Serena Williams' ex-coach explains why Serb went down to Jannik Sinner in Shanghai final

Serena Williams' former coach Rennae Stubbs and Racquet Magazine co-founder Caitlin Thompson recently held a discussion about Novak Djokovic's failure against Jannik Sinner in Shanghai. The Serb lost to Sinner in straight sets in the ATP Masters 1000 tournament's final.

After a close fight in the first set, Djokovic's zeal faded away gradually as he lost the summit clash 6-7(4), 3-6, having failed to create any break points on the Italian's serve. The result ended the 37-year-old's unbeaten record in the Shanghai finals on the fifth instance.

The outcome also marked the 24-time Grand Slam champion's third straight loss to Sinner. The duo's head-to-head now stands tied at 4-4, with Djokovic dominating their first three meetings.

"Novak is in his last… in December of his career but I feel like something clicked and he just cannot get past Jannik Sinner," said Caitlin Thompson in the latest episode of The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast (at 16:03).

Rennae Stubbs, who trained Serena Williams during the 2022 US Open, explained that Djokovic's recent struggles against Sinner had to do with his age and the Italian's great form simultaneously. She said:

"I'll tell you why he cannot get by… I think it's because Jannik is a little bit better. Novak is 37. At some point, you start to lose that dominance and Jannik has that feeling of dominance. And confidence factor is huge in big moments, like, particularly in the tiebreak in the first set you could see Jannik was like, ‘This is my time!’

"Whereas three years ago, when it got to a tiebreak… remember Novak could not lose a tiebreak. So many of these matches would go down to these tiebreakers because they were dominating on the serve, the court was quick. Jannik is almost untouchable on his serve."

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"Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic play a very similar style of tennis" - Caitlin Thompson

2024 Shanghai Rolex Masters Final - Source: Getty

Carrying the discussion forward during the same episode of The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, Caitlin Thompson suggested Jannik Sinner's game is identical to that of Novak Djokovic's.

"The reason their matchup is so interesting to me, as opposed to like Novak vs Carlos or Jannik vs Carlos, is the style is so different. Jannik and Novak play a very similar style of tennis.

"They move very similarly, they’re both very flexible, move extremely quickly, it’s almost indistinguishable when you’re watching them," Thompson added (at 17:02).

Interestingly, Djokovic stepped onto the court with Sinner for the Shanghai Masters final with an opportunity to complete a century of ATP Tour-level titles.

However, it wasn't to be for the 37-year-old, who's now 1-1 with Sinner in final-specific head-to-head. In their first-ever title clash meeting, which came at the 2023 ATP Finals, Djokovic scored a 6-3, 6-3 victory over the current World No. 1.