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Jannik Sinner secured the end-of-year ATP number one ranking by reaching the Shanghai Masters final with 6-4 7-5 win over Tomas Machac.
Czech Machac was looking to follow on from his victory over world number two Carlos Alcaraz, and had got off to a positive start when he broke Sinner in the opening game of their semi-final.
However, the 23-year-old Italian, winner of both the Australian Open and US Open this year, soon broke back to level at 2-2 before closing out the set.
The second set proved a closer affair, staying on serve until Sinner broke Machac in the 12th game to clinch victory – his 64th match win of the season – in one hour and 45 minutes, becoming the first Italian to claim the year-end number one spot in the process.
“It is something you dream of when you are a kid, when you are young, just to reach the number one, now having the year-end, it is also a different and special feeling,” Sinner said, quoted on the ATP Tour website.
“It means so much to me, obviously. This is something I could not accomplish without all the people I have around – the family and friends and also a big credit to my team.”
Sinner, chasing a seventh title of 2024, will play either Novak Djokovic or seventh seed Taylor Fritz in Sunday’s final.
