The 37-year-old also emphasized that this is not his last time playing at the Shanghai Masters.

"I definitely plan to come back next year," he added.

Coric will improve his ranking to a career-high No 15 this week.

"It will be really ungrateful that I say that I was waiting for a very long time," Coric said. "And it happened much earlier than what I expected."

Djokovoic powered past the fourth-seeded Zverev 6-2, 6-1.

The 31-year-old Serbian, who has not lost a match since Toronto in August, broke four times of six offerings.

"He is probably the best player in the world right now. I didn't lose to anyone that bad," said Zverev, who committed 24 unforced errors.

The triumph also helped Djokovoic leapfrog Federer to become world No 2.

"Obviously I work hard for it. And my ultimate goal is to get to No 1 by the end of the year. I'm in a good way," the 14-time Grand Slam champion said after nailing down his fourth Shanghai Masters title.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE