Jannik Sinner secured the number 1 spot in the men’s tennis world rankings at the end of the year by defeating the number 30 seeded Czech Tomas Machac 6:4, 7:5 in the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters, thus capping a year in which the Italian won two Grand Slam titles.

Machac got off to a promising start by winning the first two games before Sinner came onto the court, with the top seed turning the set around before wrapping it up in 44 minutes as his opponent started piling up the errors. Machac stepped up and delivered an even sterner test in the second set, but Sinner proved too solid for his 23-year-old, making just nine unforced errors, securing his 64th win of the year.

Sinner will next face fourth seed record 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic or seventh seed American Taylor Fritz, who play in the second semi-final later on Saturday. The Italian’s dominant season saw him win his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open and his second at the US Open. He is the first Italian to end the year as world No. 1 and the first man from his country to reach the final in Shanghai.

“It’s amazing. This is what you dream about when you are a child, when you are young. “To just reach first place now, but to have the year over – that’s also a different and special feeling,” said Sinner. “But that happened during the tournament. So I don’t even think about that. I know tomorrow will be an important day – but it obviously means a lot to me. This is something I couldn’t achieve without the people, family and friends I have. Thanks go to my team.”

At the Wuhan Open, reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka fought back from a stumble in the first set to defeat Coco Gauff 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals. The 26-year-old now has the chance to win the tournament, which was last held in 2018, for the third time in a row.

Gauff, who has made some grip changes with new coach Matt Daly, was undermined by 21 double faults, allowing Sabalenka to turn the tide after losing the first set.

Initially, Sabalenka struggled with the world No. 4’s strength as the Belarusian found it difficult to control her returns as the American got her first serve right, repeatedly shooting over the lines or hitting the net. Former US Open champion Gauff broke twice and built a 5-0 lead that Sabalenka was only able to hold once in the first set.

Sabalenka started the second set aggressively and began to find success when Gauff struggled to hold her own serve. Nervous second serves caused the double faults to pile up quickly, allowing Sabalenka to build pressure by leaning on her power game. She won four games in a row and took the second set 6-4.

In the third set, Sabalenka took a 4-1 lead before Gauff broke and got back to 4-4. However, Sabalenka took control again and managed another break to win the match.

“A few mistakes from her and I thought I might still have a chance in this match.” “It was a very important win,” Sabalenka said in the post-match interview.

The Belarusian will face the winner of an all-Chinese semifinal later on Saturday between fifth seed Zheng Qinwen, who won Olympic gold in Paris this year, and Wang Xinyu. “I’m really happy to be in the final. One more round and I will do everything to win this beautiful trophy for the third time,” Sabalenka added. “It will be a great game.”