SHANGHAI, Oct. 12 (Xinhua) -- Top seed Jannik Sinner notched a 6-4, 7-5 ATP Shanghai Masters semifinal victory over Tomas Machac on Saturday to set up a final against Novak Djokovic.
Italy's Sinner faced pressure soon after the match began as Machac broke his serve in the first game. However, Sinner quickly came back by earning a break in the fourth game. Machac kept a high level of performance throughout but lost momentum in the final game of both sets, gifting Sinner opportunities to break.
Sinner contributed 10 aces in the whole match, double those of Machac, while the world No. 1 allowed only seven unforced errors, 16 fewer than his rival.
With his win, Sinner becomes the first Italian to finish the year as ATP No. 1. "It's a good feeling. I'm very happy to achieve this. It was an amazing season for me, and it's not finished yet. Tomorrow is a great final ahead, first time here in Shanghai, so I'm looking forward to it, and then we see how it goes, hopefully, it's going to be a good match," said Sinner.
"I'm very proud to be Italian, and just bringing back something for the fans, and then they are giving me so much love, so I'm happy to be in that position," he added.
Elsewhere, despite discomfort in his left knee, Djokovic overcame Taylor Fritz 6-4, 7-6 (6) to face Sinner in the final. After taking lead easily in the first set, Djokovic's physical condition began to bother him in the second set, forcing the Serbian to call for a medical time-out at 5-6. The veteran kept resilience in the tie-break to achieve his 10th straight tour-level victory against Fritz.
"Shanghai has always been a great place for me. I always feel comfortable. I love playing in front of this crowd. Had tremendous support tonight. I'm very grateful to all the people who really pushed me through even when I was down in the tie-break," said Djokovic.
"It's great to play in that kind of atmosphere. Hopefully, tomorrow can be another good match against the best player in the world," he added.
In the men's doubles, Argentina's Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni defeated Jean-Julien Rojer of Netherlands and Adam Pavlasek of the Czech Republic 4-6, 7-5, 10-8. ■