SHANGHAI, China (Reuters) -Jannik Sinner secured the year-end world number one ranking by beating Czech 30th seed Tomas Machac 6-4 7-5 in the Shanghai Masters semi-finals on Saturday as he became the first Italian to reach the tournament’s showpiece match.
Machac made a promising start to the match by winning the opening two games before Sinner got on the board, with the top-seeded Italian closing out a hard-fought first set in 44 minutes after errors flew from Machac’s racket.
The twice Grand Slam champion was made to work hard by Machac, even more so in the second set, but Sinner proved too solid for his fellow 23-year-old as he sealed his 64th win of the year while making just nine unforced errors.
Sinner will next face fourth-seeded record 24-times major winner Novak Djokovic or American seventh-seed Taylor Fritz, who play in the second semi-final later on Saturday.
The Italian’s dominant season has seen him win his first Grand Slam at the Australian Open and another at the U.S. Open. He is the first Italian to finish the year as world number one.
“It’s amazing. 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.
“This is something I could not accomplish without the people and family and friends I have. Credit to my team.”
Machac, who won the mixed doubles gold medal at the Paris Olympics, on Thursday ended four-times Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz’s 12-match winning streak to reach the last four.
“I think we all saw how much talent and firepower he (Machac) has,” Sinner said. “I had to be very, very careful in every service game. He’s returning very aggressively and very fast.
“I just tried to stay there every point, trying to see what’s going to happen … playing every point at the maximum intensity I could. I’m very happy about that. Happy to be back in a final again.”
Sinner can win his seventh trophy of the year on Sunday.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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