Jannik Sinner reaches the final of the Rolex Shanghai Masters, the last 1000 of the season (prize money 8,995,555 dollars) and effectively gets the mathematical proof of finishing the year as number 1 at the top of the ATP rankings. The 23-year-old from Sesto Pusteria defeated the Czech Tomas Machac (number 33 in the ranking who had surprisingly eliminated the Spaniard Alcaraz) in two sets with a score of 6-4 7- 5. This is the eighth and final season for Sinner. With this victory he will go down in the history of Italian tennis by being the first Italian to achieve one of the most prestigious goals.
By defeating Machac, the Italian extended his lead over Carlos Alcaraz in the race to 3270 points, becoming unattainable for the Spaniards. To keep hope alive, one must hope that Sinner loses every match between now and the end of the year, and wins the ATP 500, the Bercy 1000, the finals and two 250 tournaments (for a total of 3,500 points to all). But Alcaraz is adamant that he will not take part in either of the two 250s as he is busy at the Six Kings Slam scheduled for next week in Riyadh. The calendar includes three ATP 250s in Almaty, Antwerp and Stockholm from 14 to 20 October and two ATP 250s in Belgrade and Metz from 3 to 9 November.
In the final on Sunday Sinner he will find on the other side of the net either the Serbian Novak Djokovic, n.4 in ranking and seeding, or the American Taylor Fritz, n.7 ATP and the seventh seed (the 37- year-old from Belgrade leads 9-0 in a precedent-setting tie with the 26-year-old Californian from Rancho Santa Fé).
“Closing the year as number 1 is fantastic, it’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid, it’s always been my goal. It’s one thing to climb to number 1, it’s another thing to finish and close the year first in the rankings”, said the Italian tennis player at the end of the match. Machac has shown how much talent he can do. You have to be very careful with a player like that. Today was very difficult, I tried to stay there in the service and games back to find the right solution. I’m very happy to play another final here in Shanghai. It’s been a mental and emotional week, no every day is never the same i know tomorrow will be an important day i always ask the best of myself but i also try to live this well and bring happiness to those around me”, concluded MacInnes.
