Jannik Sinner to end season as World No.1 after shock Carlos Alcaraz exit from Shanghai Masters

Jannik Sinner reached the semi-final of Shanghai Masters for the first time this season.

Jannik Sinner will be winding up the 2024 season on a high note, with a prize no less than the year-end No. 1 ranking. It will be the first year-end finish on top of the table for the Italian.

The 23-year-old eased into the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters with a flawless 6-1, 6-4 victory against Daniil Medvedev, levelling their head-to-head at 7-7. Sinner overcame the fifth seed to reach his fifth ATP Masters 1000 semi-final of the season.

Sinner was quick off the blocks while Medvedev stumbled in the opening set on Stadium Court. It was a bad day at the office for Medvedev, who lost serve three times, made four double faults and 25 unforced errors on his way to his fourth loss of the season to Sinner.

Sinner and Medvedev have played five times in 2024, with the Russian taking the win at Wimbledon in the last eight. Shanghai was their third straight quarter-final meeting.

The Italian has now reached his 11th semi-final of the season while notching up his 11th top 10 win in 2024 with a victory over Medvedev. In doing so, he has equalled Carlos Alcaraz for most wins over the ATP top 10 in the ongoing season.

Sinner, in his first Shanghai Masters semi-final will square off against Czech player Tomas Machac. The World No. 33 from Beroun, Czechia booked a place in the semi-final on his Shanghai debut by ending Alcaraz’s run at the Shanghai Masters. Sinner leads Machac 1-0 in their head-to-head.

Also Read: Shanghai Masters: Full list of title winners

Tomas Machac ‘Czech-mates’ Carlos Alcaraz at Shanghai Masters

Tomas Machac snapped Alcaraz’s 12-match winning streak on Thursday to reach the last four of an ATP 1000 Masters event for the first time. Machac has made an impressive debut during his first visit to the Shanghai Masters. Machac had earlier won the mixed doubles gold medal at the 2024 Olympics alongside Katerina Siniakova.

The player from Czechia bagged a second career win over a top-five player by defeating Alcaraz in their second career head-to-head (Djokovic, Geneva semi-finals). The No. 30 seed produced stellar tennis to neutralize the World No. 2, prevailing 7-6 (5), 7-5 in one hour and 54 minutes.

Magnificent Machac 👏Tomas Machac reaches his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final with a 7-6 7-5 victory over Alcaraz#RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/8uPvhurKjD

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 10, 2024

It was the first meeting between the duo at a major event and the second of the season following their Davis Cup round-robin match, which the Spaniard won. Winning the crucial break of serve against Alcaraz in the 11th game of the second set handed the advantage to Machac as he won the final game on love to hand the 2024 Beijing Open winner his ninth loss of the season.

By making a quarter-final exit at the Shanghai Masters, Alcaraz is effectively out of the race for the year-ending No. 1. That honour will now go to Jannik Sinner, who has been consistency personified this season. Sinner has won six tour-level titles this year and looks all set to add a seventh in 2024.

With a couple of ATP 500 events (Vienna, Basel) and one last remaining ATP 1000 event (Paris) remaining before the ATP Finals, Alcaraz’s chances of finishing another season as the year-ending No. 1 are over.

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