Securing the year-end number one ranking is not on Jannik Sinner’s mind as he prepares for the Shanghai Masters final.
The Italian defeated Tomas Machac in straight sets and will face Novak Djokovic for the first time since January’s Australian Open battle in Sunday’s championship match.
Jannik Sinner has dropped just one set all tournament and he maintained his streak of reaching the quarter-finals or better at each he has played in this season.
The 23-year-old now has a chance to play for his seventh title after he narrowly missed out on retaining his championship in Beijing.
What did Jannik Sinner say about securing the year-end number one?
Following World number two Carlos Alcaraz’s quarter-final exit from the Shanghai Masters, Sinner just needed to win his semi-final to clinch the year-end number spot for the first time.
He had a tough test in the form of Machac, who defeated Alcaraz in straight sets by producing some scintillating tennis.
After Sinner won his 44th hard court match of the season, he was asked about securing the year-end number one, but he was keen to put it to the back of his mind.
“It’s amazing. It’s something you dream of when you’re a kid, when you’re young. Just to reach the #1 spot now, but to have the year-end, It’s also a different and special feeling,” Sinner said on court.
“But this happened during the tournament. So I’m not even thinking about that. I know tomorrow will be an important day… the final. 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.”
Jannik Sinner praised Tomas Machac after their Shanghai Masters semi-final
Sinner defeated Machac for the second time in his career after securing a 6-4, 7-5 win in one hour and 44 minutes.
The World number one did a stellar job of withstanding Machac’s relentless power and raised his game at crucial moments to secure victory.
He brought an end to an excellent week for the 23-year-old, who will ascend to a career-high ranking of number 25 on Monday.
“I think we all saw how much talent he has, how much firepower he can produce,” Sinner said. “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.”
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