Nadal, the winner of 22 Grand Slam titles, announced last week that he will retire from tennis after the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga next month.

Novak Djokovic insisted Sunday that he plans "to compete and play next season" despite suffering another loss at the hands of world number one Jannik Sinner.

World number one Jannik Sinner defeated 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 on Sunday to win the Shanghai Masters.

Jannik Sinner beat Tomas Machac 6-4, 7-5 to reach the Shanghai Masters final on Saturday and ensure he finishes the year as world number one.

Novak Djokovic said Friday he was "overwhelmed" by the news of Rafael Nadal's retirement and called the Spaniard "the greatest rival that I ever had", but said he has no plans to stop.

As a child Alcaraz had watched Nadal and was grateful for the "immense gift" of playing alongside him at the Paris Olympics earlier this year which was held at Roland Garros.

When a teenaged Rafa Nadal bounced in to Roland Garros in pirate pants and sleeveless shirt in May 2005 before scything through the draw, few realised it marked the start of an unprecedented era of sporting domination.

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer's rivalry started in the sweltering heat of Miami and ended almost two decades later in tears and hand-holding in an emotional London farewell.

Rafael Nadal on Thursday announced he will retire after the Davis Cup finals in November, ending a career which brought 22 Grand Slam titles, global respect and inspired epic, iconic rivalries with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

Wimbledon will break with tradition and replace line judges with electronic line calling from next year's championships, the All England Club confirmed on Wednesday.

Aryna Sabalenka has set her sights on reclaiming the world number one spot and can close the gap on Iga Swiatek with a good run at the Wuhan Open, which is returning on Monday after a five-year absence.

Four-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz made short work of China's Shang Juncheng on Saturday, defeating him in straight sets to breeze through to the Shanghai Masters third round.

Sinner now has to turn his attention to the Shanghai Masters, where he could end up facing Alcaraz again.

The four-time Grand Slam champion from Spain edged a captivating final 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) for his fourth ATP crown of the year and 16th overall.

Jannik Sinner ignored the bubbling controversy over his steroid case and a roaring home crowd to set up a China Open final against Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday.

The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) had cleared the Italian of wrongdoing in August, and weeks later he won the US Open for his second major title.

Carlos Alcaraz welcomed the addition of Rafa Nadal to Spain's Davis Cup team for the quarter-finals in November and hoped the event in Malaga will not mark the end of the 22-times Grand Slam champion's career.

Aryna Sabalenka said Tuesday that she wants to cap off a stellar year by returning to the top of the world rankings.

"I'm too far away from that level," he said. "I hope I'll reach it one day, but it's really impossible," said Alcaraz.

"It was a huge thing when I played him for the first time," said the world number three. "The other times for me were kind of a nightmare."