Jannik Sinner secured the year-end world No 1 men’s tennis ranking by beating Czech 30th seed Tomas Machac 6-4, 7-5 in the Shanghai Masters semi-finals, capping a year where the Italian has won two grand slam titles.
Machac made a promising start by winning the opening two games before Sinner got on the board, with the top-seed turning the set around before closing it out in 44 minutes as his opponent begun to rack up the errors. Ultimately Sinner proved too solid for his fellow 23-year-old, making just nine unforced errors as he sealed his 64th win of the year.
Sinner’s dominant season has seen him win the Australian Open and the US Open. He is the first Italian to finish the year as world No 1 and the first man from his country to reach the final in Shanghai.
“It’s something you dream of when you’re a kid, when you’re young. Just to reach the number one spot, now but to have the year-end – it’s also a different and special feeling,” Sinner said. “But this happened during the tournament. So I’m not even thinking about that. I know tomorrow will be an important day – but it means so much to me obviously”
Sinner will face Novak Djokovic in the final after the 24-time major winner beat seventh-seed Taylor Fritz 6-4, 7-6(6) to move a step closer to a 100th ATP title. There was only one break of serve in the match, with Djokovic breaking Fritz at the second time of asking to take a decisive lead in the first set. In the second set, the 37-year-old had to manage a hip issue, but toughed it out before winning the tiebreak.
“I came here this year definitely with the vision or desire to get to the final and fight for 100 titles,” Djokovic said. “I’ve got that chance against the best player in the world and let’s see what happens.”
At the Wuhan Open, reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka fought back from a first-set stumble to beat Coco Gauff 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 in their semi-final. The 26-year-old will now have the chance to win the tournament – which was last held in 2018 – for a third consecutive time.
Gauff, who has made some grip changes with new coach Matt Daly, was undermined by committing 21 double faults, allowing Sabalenka to turn the tide after losing the first set.
Initially Sabalenka struggled against the world No 4’s power, with the Belarusian finding it hard to control her returns when the American got the first serve right, repeatedly overshooting the lines or finding the net. Former US Open champion Gauff broke twice to build a 5-0 lead as Sabalenka could only hold only once in the first set.
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Starting the second set on an aggressive note, Sabalenka began to find success as Gauff struggled to hold her own serve. Nervous second serves saw the double faults quickly rack up and allowed Sabalenka to build pressure by leaning on her power game, winning four games in a row to take the second set 6-4.
In the third set, Sabalenka went 4-1 up before Gauff rallied to break and get it back to 4-4. However, Sabalenka took control again, getting another break to win the match. The Belarusian will face Zheng Qinwen, who won Olympic gold in Paris this year, after she overcame compatriot Wang Xinyu in the all-Chinese semi-final.
“I’m really happy to be in the final. One more to go and I will do everything I can to win this beautiful trophy for the third time,” Sabalenka added. “It will be a great match.”