Great Britain must win a deciding doubles rubber against France to keep alive their Davis Cup hopes for this season after Cameron Norrie was beaten by Ugo Humbert in Manchester.
Dan Evans fought back from a set and a break down to see off teenage debutant Arthur Fils 3-6 6-3 6-4 to give Britain the lead in front of a 13,000 sell-out crowd at the AO Arena, a single day record for the competition in this country.
An out-of-form Norrie also battled from behind to force a deciding set against Ugo Humbert but was unable to take it, the Frenchman winning 7-6 (5) 3-6 7-5.
It will therefore come down to the final match of the week to decide who joins Australia in qualifying for the final eight event in Malaga in November.
Team selection has been one of the most intriguing aspects of this week and here it was France springing a surprise by turning to 19-year-old Fils ahead of the experienced Adrian Mannarino, against whom Evans has a great record.
Smith opted for his two highest-ranked singles players, overlooking Jack Draper, who made his own impressive debut in beating Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis on Wednesday, and Andy Murray.
Fils is the highest-ranked teenager in the world at 44 and the most exciting of a crop of young French players.
It was immediately clear this was not a comfortable match-up for the 5ft 9in Evans, who struggles to impose his finesse-based game against power hitters, and he was in deep trouble when he was broken for a second successive game at the start of the second set.
Fils had been landing everything but he played a poor game serving at 3-2 to allow Evans back into the contest and from there a combination of the crowd, smart play by the British number two and his opponent’s inexperience turned things around.
Fils managed to stay in touch in the deciding set and Evans had to come through a tense final game, leaping and punching the air before expressing annoyance at his opponent for a very perfunctory handshake.
“He’s a super nice guy,” the 33-year-old said later. “I understand it now.
“Obviously I’m a bit fired up when I was at the net as well. It’s fine, he’s a little younger than me.
“I’ve been in that situation, you just want to get off the court.
“He played very good at the start. A very unorthodox forehand.
“It took me a little while to get into it. It’s been a pretty long week. Maybe I was a tiny bit flat at the start but I got the crowd involved.
“It’s an amazing crowd today. You really helped me get through when I was a set and a break down and not feeling exactly how I wanted to be playing.
“To be playing in front of such a big crowd for the country again, it’s everything to me.”
Evans’ victory gave Norrie the chance to clinch the tie, with Smith keeping faith with his number one despite his disappointing last few months and a loss to Stan Wawrinka on Friday.
Norrie saved a set point to force a tie-break in the first set against his fellow left-hander Humbert but blazed a backhand wide after fighting back from 2-6 to 5-6.
Norrie was not playing badly, though, and he secured the first break of the match to take a 2-0 lead in the second set.
Against Stan Wawrinka on Friday he had wilted from a similar position but here Norrie passed a real test by saving two break points at 4-2 and then another at 5-3 after three set points had come and gone.
It was the sort of gritty tennis that carried Norrie to the top 10 not so long ago, and he clinched his fourth chance to send the match to a deciding set.
Norrie seemed in the ascendancy for much of it but could not force a break and it was he who cracked serving to stay in the match, a double fault handing Humbert a victory the Frenchman described as one of the best of his life.
Djokovic made to wait for 100th title as Sinner reigns supreme in Shanghai
Novak Djokovic's wait for his 100th ATP Tour title rolled on as Jannik Sinner cemented his place at the top of the world by claiming the Shanghai Masters title.
With Carlos Alcaraz and Roger Federer watching on from the stands, world number one Sinner turned in a sensational show of force to dispatch Djokovic 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 on Sunday.
Sinner needed just one hour and 39 minutes to wrap up his third ATP 1000 title of a remarkable season in which he has now won 65 matches.
The Italian did have to get the better of Djokovic in a tie-break to win the opener, but broke the Serbian great on three occasions to settle it in his favour.
Sinner kept up that momentum in the second set, though, with some slack shots from Djokovic enabling the 23-year-old to claim the crucial break in game four.
And with Djokovic unable to handle Sinner's powerful serve, the latter sealed the championship at the first time of asking, adding a seventh title to his haul for 2024.
Data Debrief: Sinner's statement of intent
Since 2015, Sinner – who has only lost six times this year – is just the fourth player to win at least seven Tour-level titles in a single season, after Djokovic (2023, 2016 and 2015), Federer (2017) and Andy Murray (2016).
At the age of 23 years and 58 days, Sinner has become the youngest player to win the Shanghai Masters and the youngest to clinch at least three ATP 1000 titles in a calendar year since Rafael Nadal (22 years and 334 days) in 2009.
Sinner is only the fifth player aged 23 or under in the Open Era to win six ATP titles on hard court in a single year after Jimmy Connors (1973), Ivan Lendl (1981), Pete Sampras (1994) and Roger Federer (2004).
He is also the first player to claim victory at consecutive ATP 1000 tournaments since Djokovic in 2020.
Sinner now holds a record of 28-3 at ATP 1000 events in 2024. Since the format's inception in 1990, only four players have achieved more match wins in a season - Federer, Nadal, Murray and Djokovic.
Sinner revels in 'special feeling' after confirming year-end number one ranking
Jannik Sinner says it is a "special feeling" to confirm the year-end number one spot following his Shanghai Masters semi-final win.
Sinner is the first Italian to end a calendar year as number one, having clinched the top ranking with a 6-4 7-5 win over Tomas Machac.
He will face Novak Djokovic in his maiden Shanghai final, and his fourth consecutive showpiece, though he lost the most recent in Beijing to Carlos Alcaraz last week.
Sinner (2023-24) has become only the third player in the Open Era to reach seven or more ATP event finals on hard court in consecutive seasons after Roger Federer (2004-07 and 2014-2015) and Novak Djokovic (2011-13 and 2015-2016).
Sinner, who has 64 wins under his belt this season, is the 18th player to end the year as the top-ranked player and said he has fulfilled a childhood dream in doing so.
"It's amazing. It's something you dream of when you are a kid, when you are young, just to reach the number one," Sinner told Sky Sports.
"Now having the year-end, it's also a different and special feeling.
"It means so much to me, obviously. This is something I could not accomplish without all the people I have around — the family and friends and also a big credit to my team."
Djokovic hoping 'stern' Fritz test is ideal preparation for Sinner showdown
Novak Djokovic expressed his relief at reaching the Shanghai Masters final, saying his win over Taylor Fritz pushed him to his limits on Saturday.
Djokovic kept his hopes alive of claiming a 100th tour-level title with a battling 6-4 7-6 (8-6) triumph over the American after overcoming a hip issue at the end of the second set.
The 37-year-old required a medical timeout in the closing stages of his almost two-hour-long battle but returned to the court to reach his fifth showpiece match in Shanghai.
In doing so, Djokovic surpassed Andy Murray (four) for the outright most finals reached at the event, while also extending his unbeaten run against Fritz to 10 matches.
But the 24-time grand slam champion acknowledged the challenges he faced against Fritz, who threatened to take the encounter the distance.
"It always takes it out of me, these kinds of battles, but particularly towards the end of the tournament," said Djokovic.
"At this stage of my career, I’m doing my best to recover, and I had some issues here and there on the court, physically, yesterday and today. But I managed to overcome it.
"It was a stern test. Taylor is in form, playing probably the best tennis of his life coming off a grand slam final, and he's playing really well, particularly on this surface.
"He's serving big, so I knew it was going to be a big test for me. I did not want to get to a third set, and I'm just glad to overcome in two.”
The Serbian's victory set up a meeting with world number one Jannik Sinner, who beat Tomas Machac 6-4 7-5 in the other semi-final.
It will be the pair's first meeting since their final four clash at the Australian Open earlier this year, a contest Sinner would go on to win his maiden grand slam title.
But having performed well at his first tournament since his US Open exit, Djokovic is hoping to join Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer in the 100 club against a player he described as "the best in the world."
"I came to Shanghai after five years of not playing in China, the place where I've always had great success, both in Shanghai and Beijing," said Djokovic.
"[I've won] many titles, had great battles and great performances. I’ve said it many times, the support that I get here is tremendous, and I'm very grateful.
"That creates an energy that keeps me going, keeps me running, so I did come here definitely with a vision and a desire to get to the final and fight for a 100th title.
"I get that chance against the best player in the world, and let's see what happens."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
