&w=1024&resize=1024,0&ssl=1 "Shanghai Masters 2024: Novak Djokovic will face Janic Ciner in the final | Other sports news")
Novak Djokovic overcame physical discomfort to beat Taylor Fritz 6-4 7-6 (6) and claim his 100th career title and record fifth at the Shanghai Masters.
By reaching the final on Saturday night, top-ranked Janic Ciner ensured he would become ATP number 1 at the end of the year and the first Italian to achieve the feat.
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“(I) won a lot of titles, had great fights and great performances,” said the 37-year-old Djokovic.
“I definitely came here with the dream and desire to reach the final and fight for the 100th title. I had this opportunity against the best player in the world and we’ll see what happens.”
Fellow great Roger Federer has 103 titles and Jimmy Connors leads the men with 109 titles in the Open era.
Top-ranked Janic Ciner will be chasing his seventh ATP title of the year after defeating Tomasz Machak 6-4 7-5.
Djokovic improved to 10-0 in career matches against Fritz, who lost a 5-3 lead and a 6-5 set point in the second set tiebreaker.
Djokovic was clearly struggling for mobility and balance with his left knee heavily bandaged.
“These kind of fights always make me nervous, but especially at the end of the tournament,” Djokovic said.
“At this stage of my career, I'm doing my best to recover and I had some physical problems on the court.”
But Fritz, runner-up at the US Open, was unable to take advantage.
He lost a long rally 6-6 and succumbed to his first match point when Djokovic volleyed the ball into the net and the American connected on the stretch.
Djokovic leads 4-3 overall against Ciner, who has won the last two, including the Australian Open semifinals.
Earlier, Sina faced a nearly two-hour baseline storm from No. 33-ranked Machak, who defeated No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.
The Italian won his third Masters title in 2024, following victories at the Australian Open and US Open, as well as victories in Miami and Cincinnati.
“I tried to be present at all times to see what would happen,” Sinner said.
“I played every point with maximum intensity, so I'm very happy with that. I'm happy to be back in the final again.
“I’m looking forward (to the final), trying to find a solution somehow… and I hope to win the match.”
Sinner hit 10 tapes and 28 goals against just seven unforced errors in a characteristically efficient performance to win his 64th match of the year.
Wuhan Open
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Second seed Aryna Sabalenka made a slow start to defeat Coco Gough 1-6 6-4 6-4 in the semi-finals, reaching her third consecutive final in Wuhan and preserving her perfect tournament record.
Sabalenka will face seventh-seeded Zheng Qinwen in the final. The Paris Olympic champion defeated 51st-ranked Wang Jinyu 6-3 6-4. Sabalenka will compete for her fourth title of the season, including the Australian Open and US Open.
The Belarusian's 16th consecutive win in Wuhan ended Goff's recent winning streak of nine, including last week's China Open title. But nothing seemed right for Sabalenka, who went down 6-1 in the opening set.
“In the first set he just killed it,” Sabalenka said.
“No matter what he did, everything was flying. Everything was so aggressive. I didn’t have much of a chance.”
In a clash between the last two US Open champions, Goff had a break in the lead early in the second, but Sabalenka responded to level at 4-4 and saved a break point on serve to take a 5-4 lead.
Serving to keep the set, Goff broke when Sabalenka hit a forehand volley to take the decider.
The Belarusian carried his momentum into the third, extending his streak to seven games with a 3-0 lead. Goff fought back to level at 4-4, but Sabalenka held strong to prevent Goff's run.
Sabalenka was broken once again when Goff committed his season-worst 21st double fault on match point, ending the 2 1/2-hour match.
“I know what she’s going through. It's very difficult,” said Sabalenka, who has struggled with her serve in the past.
“But I know that if he can overcome this serve situation, I'm sure he will be one of the best players.
(Only the title and image for this report may have been reworked by the Business Standards team; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a distributed feed.)
