By reaching the Shanghai final, Sinner guaranteed he would finish a career-best season at world No.1, becoming just the sixth player in the past 20 years – after Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Carlos Alcaraz – to achieve the feat.

Notably, Sinner has clinched the year-end No.1 ranking earlier than any player since 2015, a season when Djokovic guaranteed on 14 September he would finish on top.

In the past 15 years, there have only been two seasons during which players have locked up the year-end No.1 ranking earlier than Sinner.
 

FASTEST TO CLINCH ATP YEAR-END NO.1 (Since 2009)

He added weight to the achievement by beating Djokovic in the Shanghai final, his third straight victory against a player who has ended three of the past four seasons at world No.1.

“’It’s a good feeling. I’m very happy to achieve this. It was an amazing season for me, and it’s not finished yet,” Sinner said.

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“Being No.1 in the world at the end of the year, it was only a dream just to become No.1. Now finishing it, it’s also a different feeling.

“For me it also depends how you start a season. If you start it in a good way like I did, winning Australia, then you have much more confidence throughout the whole season.

“The season is going amazingly.”