Why Roger Federer and Carlos Alcaraz watched Jannik Sinner beat Novak Djokovic together

Jannik Sinner beat Novak Djokovic in the final of the Shanghai Masters on Sunday, with Roger Federer and Carlos Alcaraz among the spectators in a 12,000-strong crowd

Roger Federer and Carlos Alcaraz were seen sharing a view at the Shanghai Masters final as Jannik Sinner triumphed over Novak Djokovic.

Sinner, who is set to end the season as world number one, proved too powerful for Djokovic, marking his fourth victory in their last five encounters with a 7-6 (4) 6-3 win. This result denied Djokovic his 100th career title, although the tournament served as another reminder that the 37-year-old Serb is still a big player in the game.

The crowd of 12,000 included some notable former and current tennis heroes. Among them were Federer and Alcaraz, who have rarely crossed paths until recently. Some were surprised to see Alcaraz, given his exit from the tournament in the quarter-finals at the hands of Tomas Machac.

One reason he stayed on, along with his father, Carlos and brother Alvaro, is his upcoming participation in the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia, which starts on Wednesday. Both Sinner and Djokovic will also be making the journey to the Middle East.

Another reason for Federer and Alcaraz being sat together was their mutual association with luxury watch brand Rolex, the tournament's main sponsor, for which they are both ambassadors. Federer recently expressed his excitement about spending time with Alcaraz ahead of September's Laver Cup.

Federer revealed that he once turned down the opportunity for extra practice with a young Alcaraz, having hit with him at Wimbledon. For the following day, he requested to practice with the Spaniard's coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, instead. The Swiss tennis legend recalled the incident, admitting what he said at the time: "No, it's okay, I'd rather warm up with his coach."

Meanwhile, both will have been impressed with Sinner's sublime display against Djokovic. The 23-year-old said: "It was a very tough match, obviously.

"Playing against Novak is one of the toughest challenges we have and I'm obviously very, very happy how I handled the situation. He was serving great the first set, I really couldn't find a way to break him.

"I played a very good breaker in the first set, which gave me the confidence to start off well in the second set and obviously very happy with the performance throughout this whole tournament. It's obviously a very special one."

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