Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic reach the final of the Shanghai Masters

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner will aim for his seventh ATP title of the year in the Shanghai Masters final after beating Tomas Machac 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday.

The victory ensured that Sinner will be the ATP's number 1 at the end of the year, the first Italian player to achieve this feat.

His 64th match win of the year set up a final against Novak Djokovic, who overcame his physical ailments to defeat seventh-seeded Taylor Fritz 6-4, 7-6 (6) and move closer to his 100th career title and a record-tying fifth title in Shanghai .

“I definitely came here this year with a vision or a desire to get to the final and fight for 100 titles,” Djokovic said. “I have this chance against the best player in the world and let’s see what happens.”

Roger Federer has 103 titles and Jimmy Connors leads the men's Open era with 109.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion improved to 10-0 in his career against Fritz, who squandered a 5-3 lead in the second set tiebreaker and was one set point ahead at 6-5.

Djokovic clearly had mobility and balance issues with his left knee heavily strapped, but US Open runner-up Fritz was unable to capitalize on that advantage.

Fritz lost a long rally 6-6 and lost on the first match point when Djokovic fired a volley into the net and the American shot it just over the distance with full power.

“Such fights always challenge me, especially towards the end of the tournament,” said Djokovic. “At this stage of my career I am doing my best to recover and I have had some physical problems here and there on the pitch.”

Djokovic leads 4-3 overall against Sinner, who has won the last two – including in the semifinals of the Australian Open.

Sinner survived a nearly two-hour baseline storm from 33rd-seeded Machac, who defeated 2nd-seeded Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.

The Italian has a shot at his third Masters title in 2024 after wins in Miami and Cincinnati as well as his victories at the Australian Open and US Open.

“I just tried to stay there to see what would happen,” Sinner said. “I just played every point with the greatest intensity possible, so I'm very happy about that. I’m happy to be in a final again.”

Sinner fired 10 aces and 28 winners with seven unforced errors in a characteristically efficient performance.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.