On the evening of October 12 (Vietnam time), Novak Djokovic moved one step closer to his 100th ATP title when he defeated American 7th seed Taylor Fritz, 6-4, 7-6 in the Shanghai Masters semi-finals.
He will play Jannik Sinner in the final. The Italian secured the world No. 1 ranking at the end of 2024 when he defeated Czech 30th seed Tomas Machac 6-4, 7-5.
Sinner became the first Italian player to reach the final in Shanghai.
For Djokovic, he will play in his fifth final in the tournament's history, aiming to win his 100th ATP title as well as his fifth Shanghai Masters title.
"I came here this year definitely with the vision or the desire to get to the final and fight for the 100th title," Djokovic said.
"I have the opportunity to play against the best player in the world and let's see what happens."
Fourth seed Djokovic entered the semi-final with an incredible 9-0 head-to-head record against Fritz and immediately turned up the pressure in the opening game, forcing the American to defend three break points.
The Serbian put Fritz in a difficult position with powerful and accurate shots, using his backhand to create three more break opportunities when the score was 2-2.
Fritz could only save one before firing a backhand wide. Djokovic maintained his lead and sealed the first set with his first ace of the match.
Fritz - the 2024 US Open finalist, played better in set 2, creating tension.
Djokovic had a slight hip problem and needed treatment on court, but he was still able to hang on, taking the set to a tie-break, where Nole won 8-6.
Meanwhile, Machac had a promising start against Sinner, winning the opening two games. But Sinner won the next three games to take the lead and closed out the first set in a difficult 44 minutes after Machac made an error.
The two-time Grand Slam champion had to work hard against Machac, even more so in the second set, but Sinner proved too solid for his age (23).
Sinner had his 64th win of the year while making just nine unforced errors.
Sinner's dominant season saw him win his first Grand Slam at the Australian Open and then the US Open.
He is the first Italian to end the year as world number one and could win his seventh title this year if he beats Djokovic.
