Djokovic outlasts Del Potro in thrilling final set tie-break to claim Shanghai crown

Top seed Novak Djokovic retained the Shanghai Masters title on Sunday by edging sixth seed Juan Martin Del Potro in an entertaining three-set final which lasted more than two and a half hours.
The Serbian toppled his Argentinian opponent 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7/3) for his seventh ATP crown of the year, giving his hopes of overhauling Rafael Nadal for the end-of-year world No 1 spot a slight boost.
Djokovic dominated the 34-minute first set, breaking the Del Potro serve in games two and four, and at that point looked firmly in control.
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Champion: Novak Djokovic beat Juan Martin del Potro to claim his second Shanghai Masters title

Awards: The pair show off their modern looking trophies after the match

 

Djokovic outlasts Del Potro in thrilling final

However, Del Potro responded well in the second set and stormed into a 3-0 lead thanks to a string of stunning winners. He then overcame a 0-40 deficit in game seven by winning five straight points and went on to close out the set by holding to love.
Del Potro saved two match points at 5-4 in the decider to force the tie-break, but world number two Djokovic held his nerve and clinched his 12th consecutive match win with a backhand winner down the line.

Head in hands: A disappointed Del Potro after a wonderful tournament where he beat Rafael Nadal

On the run: Djokovic playing a backhand down the line

 

Del Potro: Djokovic is just so good

Del Potro, who booked his place at next month's ATP World Tour Finals in London by beating world No 1 Nadal in the semi-final on Saturday, was disappointed to see his eight-match winning streak come to an end but found kind words for his opponent.
He said on www.atpworldtour.com: 'The match was really close and I think Nole (Djokovic) played some unbelievable points in the tie-break.
'The match was so exciting. At Wimbledon we played another fantastic match against each other.
'It's a really bad loss for me now. I was really close to beating him after beating Nadal.'

Had his moments: Del Potro played a impressive second set to take it into a decider

Coming to the net: Djokovic used variety to get past his powerful opponent