Sinner secures top men's spot at year's end while Sabalenka beats Gauff in Wuhan | tennis

Jannik Sinner secured the number 1 spot in the men's tennis world rankings at the end of the year by defeating the number 30 seeded Czech Tomas Machac 6:4, 7:5 in the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters, thus capping a year in which the Italian won two Grand Slam titles.

Machac got off to a promising start by winning the first two games before Sinner came onto the court, with the top seed turning the set around before wrapping it up after 44 minutes when his opponent started making mistakes. Ultimately, Sinner proved too solid for his 23-year-old, making just nine unforced errors to secure his 64th win of the year.

In his dominant season, Sinner won the Australian Open and the US Open. He is the first Italian to end the year as world No. 1 and the first man from his country to reach the final in Shanghai.

“This is what you dream about as a child when you’re young. “To just reach first place now, but to have the year over – that’s also a different and special feeling,” said Sinner. “But that happened during the tournament. So I don't even think about that. I know tomorrow will be an important day – but it obviously means a lot to me.”

Sinner will face Novak Djokovic in the final after the 24-time major winner defeated Taylor Fritz in the second semi-final. Djokovic moved one step closer to his 100th ATP title with his 6-4, 7-6 (6) win over the No. 7 seed.

There was only one break of serve in the match, with Djokovic breaking Fritz for the second time as he begged to take the decisive lead in the first set. The 37-year-old struggled with a hip problem in the second set but was able to pull through before winning the tiebreak.

“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.”

At the Wuhan Open, reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka fought back from a stumble in the first set to defeat Coco Gauff 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals. The 26-year-old now has the chance to win the tournament, which was last held in 2019, for the third time in a row.

Gauff, who has made some grip changes with a new coach, Matt Daly, was undermined by 21 double faults, allowing Sabalenka to turn the tide after losing the first set.

Initially, Sabalenka struggled with the world No. 4's strength as the Belarusian found it difficult to control her returns as the American got her first serve right, repeatedly shooting over the lines or hitting the net. Former US Open champion Gauff broke twice and built a 5-0 lead that Sabalenka was only able to hold once in the first set.

Sabalenka started the second set aggressively and began to find success when Gauff struggled to hold her own serve.

Nervous second serves caused the double faults to pile up quickly, allowing Sabalenka to build pressure by leaning on her power game. She won four games in a row and took the second set 6-4.

In the third set, Sabalenka took a 4-1 lead before Gauff broke and got back to 4-4. However, Sabalenka took control again and managed another break to win the match.

The Belarusian will face Zheng Qinwen, who won Olympic gold in Paris this year after beating compatriot Wang Xinyu 6-3, 6-4 in the all-Chinese semifinal.

“I'm really happy to be in the final. One more round and I will do everything to win this beautiful trophy for the third time,” Sabalenka added. “It will be a great game.”