Novak Djokovic put on an extraordinary exhibition of tennis brilliance to outplay Carlos Alcaraz, beating the Spaniard 6-3, 6-2 to move into his ninth ATP Finals final.

He will meet Italian home favourite Jannik Sinner in Sunday’s showpiece match in what will be Djokovic’s 138th final at ATP level.

In the fifth chapter of a scintillating rivalry that had always previously produced close and captivating epics, this was the first one-sided encounter between the world’s two best players.

Djokovic was in utterly imperious form throughout, producing some of his very finest tennis to stun the Spaniard into submission.

Alcaraz started well, his aggressive start producing two break points in the opening game. But he wasn’t able to earn the elusive break as Djokovic saved both break points to open the match with a hold of serve.

Alcaraz had been serving impeccably up until the eighth game, when his first serve deserted him. It was a poor game from the Spaniard in general, and Djokovic pounced on the opportunity, breaking Alcaraz on his second opportunity to move 5-3 up. Djokovic then duly served out the set as the first stanza suddenly and unexpectedly went up in smoke for the Alcaraz.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion then broke again in the third game of the second set to seize firm control of the semi-final as Alcaraz’s camp looked on with visible concern.

A golden chance to land the knock-out blow came and went for Djokovic in the fifth game, as Alcaraz stood strong to fend off a break point and avoid falling a double-break down.

The match then ignited in an astonishing sixth game as Alcaraz came alive, winning two breathtakingly high-quality exchanges to earn himself two break points. But Djokovic came right back at him, winning a mesmerising rally on the second break point en route to holding serve.

That proved a pivotal moment in the context of both the second set and the match, as Djokovic exerted yet more return pressure on the Spaniard in the following game to earn the double break and deal Alcaraz a final fatal blow.

There were no signs of a nerves from the world No 1 as he stepped up to the baseline in the next game and clinically served out an exceptional win to knock Alcaraz out of the ATP Finals and send the Serb through to yet another final.