Sinner reaches the final of the Shanghai Masters. Sabalenka prevails against Gauff in Wuhan

SHANGHAI (AP) — Top-ranked Jannik Sinner will seek his seventh ATP title of the year in the final of the Shanghai Masters after defeating Tomas Machac 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday.

The victory ensured that Sinner will be number 1 in the ATP at the end of the year. He is the first Italian to achieve this feat.

His 64th win of the year led to a final against four-time Shanghai champion Novak Djokovic or seventh-seeded Taylor Fritz.

The Italian survived a nearly two-hour baseline storm from Machac, ranked No. 33, to defeat No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.

Sinner 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 every point 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.

“I'm just looking forward to (the final), trying to find a solution somehow… and hopefully win the game.”

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

In the other semifinal on Saturday, Djokovic starts with a 9-0 head-to-head record against Fritz. It is Djokovic's 77th Masters semifinal and Fritz's fifth.

Wuhan open

Second seed Aryna Sabalenka recovered from a slow start to beat the in-form Coco Gauff 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the semi-finals. She reached her third consecutive Wuhan final and defended her perfect record at the tournament.

Sabalenka will face seventh-ranked Zheng Qinwen or 51st-ranked Wang Xinyu in the final, where she will fight for her fourth title of the season, which also includes the Australian Open and US Open.

The Belarusian's 16th win in Wuhan ended Gauff's recent nine-game winning streak, including the China Open title last week. But things looked anything but safe for Sabalenka as she fell 6-1 in the opening set.

In a battle between the last two US Open champions, Gauff led with a break early in the second round, but Sabalenka responded with a move to make it 4-4 and saved a break point on serve to take a 5-4 lead.

Gauff tried to stay in the set but was broken when Sabalenka forced a decider with a forehand volley.

The Belarusian continued her momentum into the third round, extending her winning streak to seven games with a 3-0 lead. Gauff fought back to make it 4-4, but Sabalenka held strong and stopped Gauff's run.

Sabalenka broke again after Gauff committed her 21st double fault on match point, ending the two-and-a-half-hour match.

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AP Tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis