ATP Shanghai, Sinner beats Machac: he is in the final. «Closing the year as number 1 was my dream as a child». Now the final with Djokovic

John

By John

One more final for Jannik Sinner in this amazing 2024 for the blue number one in the world. The Czech was beaten in two sets Tomas Machac with the score of 6-4 7-5, at the end of a anything but banal match where the South Tyrolean had to repair the break suffered in the first game of the match, with a nice first set that lasted 44 minutes between great plays, rallies tough, three breaks. The second set is even more contested, and the decisive overtaking takes place at 6-5, with the break giving Sinner the final. The Italian will play for the title against the Serbian Novak Djokovic, fourth seed.

With today’s victory over Machan Jannik Sinner he gains the certainty of ending the year as number 1 in the world. «Ending the year as number 1 was my childhood dream, it’s something you look for from the moment you start playing”, said the South Tyrolean immediately after the match, which ended in two sets. “Machac has a lot of talent, fantastic and aggressive tennis,” said the Italian. «I lost serve immediately, then I tried to play every point and exchange as much as possible. Every final is different, I have to play as best as possible to find the right solutions.”

Djokovic’s victory

Novak Djokovic stronger than physical ailments. The Serbian beats American Taylor Fritz 6-4 7-6 in the semi-final at the ATP 1000 tournament in Shanghai and tomorrow he will face Jannik Sinner to win his 100th career trophy and get closer to the records of Roger Federer (103) and Jimmy Connors (109). The Paris 2024 Olympic champion won a match in which he dominated – regardless of the result – the first set and then in the second, after a bad move he had many physical problems. The intervention of the physiotherapist who gave him a back massage allowed him to continue, but in the tie break he revealed his problems. Tenacity, however, is Djokovic’s biggest weapon and Fritz can complain a lot: he wasted two minibreaks, losing 8-6. In the final the match most awaited by fans, hoping that Djokjovic is in optimal conditions. Match in which, however, Jannik Sinner, world no. 1 in his eighth final in 2024 (he won 6, losing only the last one, in Beijing, against Alcaraz), starts as the favourite.