PremiumShanghai Masters 2024: Jannik Sinner seals finale spot; to meet winner of Djokovic-Fritz encounter
Jannik Sinner is in his first Shanghai Masters final
Last Updated: 05.14 PM, Oct 12, 2024
The prediction was that Jannik Sinner would be in the final of the Shanghai Masters 2024, but would it really be that easy? His opponent, Tomas Machac, had, after all beaten Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-final. Only days ago, Alcaraz had beaten Sinner to win the China Open, so, an upset by Machac could not be ruled out. Sinner, who is ending the year as the World No 1, was in no mood to be upstaged. It took him all of 1 hour and 42 minutes to get to his first-ever Shanghai Masters final.
Machac did not make it too easy for Sinner; he was broken only once in the first set that the latter took 6-4. In the second, the duo went toe-to-toe for a while, until Machac had a brief chance to break Sinner and level out the match, but he was not able to convert. Sinner did not make the same mistake, when presented with a similar opportunity and closed out the match, taking the second set 7-5.
When Sinner broke Machac's racquet
Great serves and volleys were the hallmark of the match, which also had its share of fun, when Machac had to seek the chair umpire’s permission to change his racquet mid-game. “The rallies are too fast,” said Machac, a joke that was momentarily lost on Sinner, who rushed to the net to figure out the issue. It was only when Machac added, “You play too fast; the racket is broken”, that the Italian caught the humour in the statement.
Sinner will now meet the winner of the second semi-final between Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz, a duo that’s played each other 9 times earlier, all 9 of which were won by Djokovic, who is gunning for a career 100thtitle in Shanghai.
All the tennis action from the Shanghai Masters ATP Masters 1000 tournament is available to stream on SonyLIV and OTTplay Premium. Sony Network is the official partner of ATP in India. WTA is yet to find a dedicated partner, though.