Jannik Sinner secured the end-of-year ATP number-one ranking by reaching the Shanghai Masters final with a 6-4 7-5 win over Tomas Machac.
Czech Machac was looking to follow on from his victory over world number two Carlos Alcaraz, and had got off to a positive start when he broke Sinner in the opening game of their semi-final.
However, the 23-year-old Italian, winner of both the Australian Open and US Open this year, soon broke back to level at 2-2 before closing out the set.
The second set proved a closer affair, staying on serve until Sinner broke Machac in the 12th game to clinch victory – his 64th match win of the season – in one hour and 45 minutes, becoming the first Italian to claim the year-end number-one spot in the process.
🚨 HISTORY MADE! 🚨
🇮🇹 Jannik Sinner claims ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF, becoming the first Italian to achieve this historic feat! 🏆#PIF | #ATPRankings | #partner pic.twitter.com/1nKno7Gs0v
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 12, 2024
“It is something you dream of when you are a kid, when you are young, just to reach the number one, now having the year-end, it is also a different and special feeling,” Sinner said, quoted on the ATP Tour website.
“It means so much to me, obviously. This is something I could not accomplish without all the people I have around – the family and friends and also a big credit to my team.”
Sinner, chasing a seventh title of 2024, will face Novak Djokovic in the final after the Serbian beat seventh seed Taylor Fritz 6-4 7-6 (6).
Djokovic never looked in danger of seeing his unbeaten record against the American slip, despite appearing to struggle with some fitness issues during the second set, which went to a tie-break.
The dominance continues 🙌@DjokerNole is into a record-extending 59th Masters 1000 final after defeating Fritz#RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/2U2W9ArNOJ
— Rolex Shanghai Masters (@SH_RolexMasters) October 12, 2024
The world number four – aiming to become the third man to win his 100th ATP Tour title – did not face a break point as he took the opening set.
Fritz fought back to move 6-5 ahead in the second set, with Djokovic taking a medical timeout for treatment on his left hip.
Djokovic, though, battled through the pain to recover from 6-5 down in the tie-break to level after a long rally and then secured his place in the final after an attempted lob from Fritz dropped out.
“I had some issues here and there on the court physically a little bit yesterday and today, but managed to overcome it,” Djokovic said in his court-side interview.
“Taylor is in form, playing really well, particularly on this surface, so I knew this would be a big test for me.”
