SHANGHAI: Top-ranked Jannik Sinner will chase his seventh ATP title of the year in the Shanghai Masters final after beating Tomas Machac 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday.
Victory ensured Sinner will be the ATP year-end No. 1 and the first Italian to achieve that feat.
His 64th match win of the year set up a final against Novak Djokovic, who overcame physical discomfort to beat seventh-ranked Taylor Fritz 6-4, 7-6 (6) and move closer to a 100th career title and a record-extending fifth at Shanghai.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion also improved to 10-0 in his career matches against Fritz, who blew a 5-3 lead in the second-set tiebreaker and a set point at 6-5 up.
Djokovic was clearly struggling for mobility and balance with his left knee heavily strapped, but US Open runner-up Fritz could not take advantage.
He lost a long rally at 6-6 and succumbed on the first match point when Djokovic stabbed a volley at the net and the American flicked it just long at full stretch.
Djokovic leads 4-3 overall against Sinner, who has won the last two — including in the Australian Open semifinals.
Earlier, Sinner weathered a nearly two-hour baseline storm from No. 33-ranked Machac, who beat No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.
The Italian has a shot at his third Masters title in 2024 following victories in Miami and Cincinnati, to go with his wins at the Australian Open and US Open.
“I just tried to stay there every point, to see what was going to happen,” Sinner said. “Just playing every point with the maximum intensity I could, so I’m very happy about that. I’m happy to be back in a final again.
“I’m just looking forward to (the final), to try to find a solution somehow ... and hopefully it’s going to win the match.”
Sinner fired 10 aces and 28 winners, against only seven unforced errors, in a characteristically efficient performance.
Wuhan Open
Second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka rallied from a slow start to beat an in-form Coco Gauff 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals to advance to her third straight Wuhan final and preserve her perfect record at the tournament.
Sabalenka will face seventh-ranked Zheng Qinwen in the final. The Paris Olympics champion beat No. 51-ranked Wang Xinyu 6-3, 6-4. Sabalenka will be bidding for her fourth title of the season, which includes the Australian Open and US Open.
The Belarussian’s 16th straight victory at Wuhan ended Gauff’s own recent win streak at nine, including the China Open title last week. But it looked anything but certain for Sabalenka as she crashed 6-1 in the opening set.
“In the first set she was just crushing it,” Sabalenka said. “Whatever she was doing, everything was flying in. Everything was so aggressive. I didn’t have much opportunities.”
In a fight between the last two US Open champions, Gauff led by a break early in the second but Sabalenka responded to pull level at 4-4 and saved a break point on serve to take a 5-4 lead.
Serving to stay in the set, Gauff was broken as Sabalenka hit a lunging forehand volley to force a deciding set.
The Belarussian carried her momentum into the third, extending her streak to seven games for a 3-0 lead. Gauff fought back to level at 4-4, but Sabalenka held strong to halt Gauff’s run.
Sabalenka broke once more after Gauff hit her season-worst 21st double fault on match point, ending the 2 1/2-hour match.
“I know what she’s going through. This is really difficult,” said Sabalenka, who had issues on her serve in the past. “But I know that if she’ll be able to overcome this serve situation, I’m pretty sure she’s going to be one of the greatest players.”