Sinner sees off Machac in Shanghai SF, seals Year-End No. 1

Can Jannik Sinner convert his 2024 hard-court dominance into another title at the Rolex Shanghai Masters?

The Italian improved to 44-4 for the season on the surface Saturday with a 6-4, 7-5 semi-final triumph against Tomas Machac at the Chinese ATP Masters 1000. Sinner held firm in the face of some huge baseline hitting from his Czech opponent to complete a one-hour, 44-minute victory and advance to his maiden Shanghai championship match.

“I think we all saw how much talent he has, how much firepower he can produce,” said Sinner, when asked if Machac’s quarter-final upset against Carlos Alcaraz had impacted his own preparations for facing the Czech. “I had to be very careful in every service game, because he returns very aggressively and very fast.

“I just tried to stay there every point, to see what was going to happen, like you saw in the last game. 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.”

By clinching victory, Sinner simultaneously earned a slice of tennis history. His win against Machac ensured he will finish the season with ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours. He is the first Italian to achieve that feat.

With his 64th match win of the season overall, Sinner set a final showdown with record four-time Shanghai titlist Novak Djokovic or seventh seed Taylor Fritz. The No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings is chasing a Tour-leading seventh title of the year, and his third at Masters 1000 level in 2024 following his victories in Miami and Cincinnati.

“I felt like in Miami I was hitting the ball very good,” said Sinner, when asked to compare his on-court feeling across Miami, Cincinnati and Shanghai. “The conditions that week and how I touched the ball, I felt great. In Cincinnati it’s a bit different. The conditions there are usually a bit windy, it’s very difficult to play there. It was more like a mental week.

“[Here in Shanghai] I just try to stay calm. It’s not every day it will be the same. I’m just looking forward to [the final], to play every match I can in the best possible way and to try to find a solution somehow. I guess that’s all I’m going to try to do tomorrow and hopefully it’s going to win the match.”

Jannik’s Jaw-Dropper ?@janniksin | @SH_RolexMasters | #RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/I99tTd7lVq

Sinner was under pressure early against Machac, who appeared full of confidence after upsetting Alcaraz with a scintillating display in the quarter-finals. The Czech broke Sinner’s serve in the opening game and maintained a generally high level throughout his maiden Masters 1000 semi-final.

Yet the key to Sinner’s victory was how clinical he was at key moments. The World No. 1 decisively amped up the pressure on Machac’s serve in the final game of both sets to clinch a hard-earned victory and improve to 2-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Sinner finished the match having converted three of seven break points he earned, according to Infosys ATP Stats. He is now 54-0 against players outside the Top 20 dating back to the 2023 US Open.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]