World No 1 jokes that even he does not know how to beat himself after effortlessly dispatching Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-2, 6-4 in Shanghai finale
Novak Djokovic poses with the winner's trophy after defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Shanghai Masters final at the Qi Zhong Tennis Centre yesterday
Shanghai: Novak Djokovic handed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga a 6-2, 6-4 beating yesterday as the World No 1 claimed his third Shanghai Masters title to brutally strengthen his rule over men's tennis.
Novak Djokovic poses with the winner's trophy after defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Shanghai Masters final at the Qi Zhong Tennis Centre yesterday. Pic/Getty Images
The one-sided victory in one hour and 18 minutes at the Qi Zhong Stadium gave Serbia's Djokovic his ninth trophy of a season in which he also won three out of four Grand Slam finals.
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Djokovic's serve was broken once but he broke the floundering Tsonga four times, collecting his 10th title in China on the back of a 17-match winning streak including 22 straight sets.
Djokovic was similarly dominant over Andy Murray in the semis and has looked untouchable in both Shanghai and Beijing, where he beat Rafael Nadal to win his sixth China Open last week.
"I think I've played the best tennis ever in these two weeks in terms of back-to-back. Honestly, that's how I felt," said Djokovic, who was showered with golden confetti at the victory ceremony.
"Energy-wise, I was great. I didn't get tired. I always had plenty of intensity, concentration, high performance level from the first match in Beijing to today's match."
When asked what he would do if he were trying to beat himself, the newly crowned Shanghai Masters champion just smiled and shook his head. "It's a good question but I have no answer," grinned the Serb.
Top-ranked Djokovic now expands his rankings points tally to 16,785, nearly double the 8,750 of second-placed Murray, and will finish World No 1 for the fourth time in five years. Tsonga could only shake his head in admiration at the "really impressive" Serb after hardly managing to get a foothold in what was his second final of the year.
"Today there is nothing to say. He's playing a lot better than everybody, I think. He's really consistent," said the Frenchman. "You have to be in your best shape to beat him anyway, and everybody knows that it's not easy to play your best tennis every match.
"Yeah, I think his level is just better than everybody for the moment." The Paris Masters and World Tour Finals in London now await the Serb — and no doubt more applause, more points and, on this form, more silverware.
"I'm not thinking about being unbeaten till the rest of the year. But, yes, that's an option. It's a possibility," Djokovic said. "But I'll still try to keep the kind of a philosophy and approach where the next match matters."
16,785
Rankings points Novak Djokovic has this year
8,750
Ranking points World No 2 Andy Murray has
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