In the final against Sinner: Djokovic sets his sights on 100

Novak Djokovic meets Jannik Sinner in the final in Shanghai.
IMAGO/VCG

After Jannik Sinner had decided the first semi-final in his favor against Tomas Machac and secured his status as number one in the world at least until the end of the year, the South Tyrolean Novak Djokovic reached the final.

In the first round, the Serb broke against Taylor Fritz to make it 3-2 and win the set 6-4. In the second set, the two opponents each held their service, with the score at 6:6 it went into a tiebreak. This was extremely exciting and Fritz had a set point at 6:5 after a 5:3 lead. Djokovic defended himself, had better nerves and converted his first match point to make it 8:6. After a total of 1:55 hours of play, the Olympic champion moved into the final.

Regeneration comes first

“I’m doing my best to recover well. “I had a few physical problems here and there today and yesterday,” said the 37-year-old Djokovic. “I have the chance against the best player in the world. Let’s be surprised by what happens.”

The 37-year-old could celebrate his fifth victory at the Masters in Shanghai against Sinner. If he succeeded, he would be the first third player to reach the magical 100 mark. Djokovic had highlighted this “extra motivation” in advance. Only Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer are ahead of the 24-time Grand Slam winner. The American Connors has won 109 titles, the Swiss 103.

Sabalenka wins after 1:6 against Gauff – Breakfestival in the second set

Aryna Sabalenka seemed to be in a losing battle in the semifinals against Cori Gauff in Wuhan. The American made short work of it in the first set and lost to the world number one 6-1. Sabalenka’s misery seemed to continue in the second round when Gauff took away her serve again. But this was the start of a real break festival. The server in question failed to get the game through seven times; this was decisive when Gauff lost the service to make it 4:6 and equalize the set.

Sabalenka started the third period with a 3-0 lead, but Gauff showed fighting spirit and equalized the score to 4-4. In vain: Another break by the Belarusian ended the close match – with 1:6, 6:4 and 6:4 the 26-year-old moved into the final. Waiting there is Qinwen Zheng, a local hero who won the Chinese semi-final duel against Xin Yu Wang 6:3 and 6:4.