Fourth seed Novak Djokovic marched into the final at the Rolex Shanghai Masters with a 6-4, 7-6(6) triumph against no.7 seed Taylor Fritz.
The match lasted 1 hours and 55 minutes.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion had an early opportunity to break in the opening game, earning three break points at 0-40 on his opponent’s serve. However, the American managed to dig himself out of trouble and hold. In the fifth game, Novak once again found himself with triple break points on Fritz’s serve, and this time he converted his second chance to go up 3-2, consolidating the break for a 4-2 lead. After 38 minutes, the first set belonged to the world No. 4.
Novak’s serve continued to impress at the start of the second set. His first big opportunity came in the fifth game, where he squandered three break points. Fritz, much improved compared to the first set, put up a strong fight. In the eighth game, the American earned his first break points of the match, but Novak saved both to level at 4-4. With Fritz leading 6-5, Novak received medical attention for discomfort in his left leg and lower back. Upon returning to the court, he forced a tiebreak and saved a set point on Fritz’s serve before clinching it 8-6 after a grueling 77 minutes.
Match statistics: aces (7-6), double faults (0-5), winners (28-21), unforced errors (17-17), total points won (82-73).
Chasing a 100th title, Novak is only one victory away from claiming a fifth crown at the ATP Masters 1000 event.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion will compete in his 59th Masters final against Jannik Sinner (1) on Sunday at 10.30 CET.
Sinner advanced to the semifinals with a straight-sets victory, defeating Czech Tomas Machac 6-4, 7-5.
This will be the eighth career meeting between Novak and Jannik. The Serbian leads their head-to-head 4-3, but their most recent encounter went to the Italian in this year’s Australian Open semifinal.
Photo: Profimedia
