Alexander Zverev avenged his Monte Carlo semi-final loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas, booking his place at the Madrid Open final with a 6-4 3-6 6-2 win on Saturday.
Zverev was dominant on serve, giving up only two break points for the match with a 73 per cent first-serve rate, while winning 40 of a total 48 points on his first serve.
The German will now aim to defend his title in Sunday's final when he faces Carlos Alcaraz, who defeated world number one Novak Djokovic earlier on Saturday.
The second seed will be seeking his sixth ATP 1000 title, with Sunday's final against the home favourite to be his 10th at that level.
"I'm just extremely happy to be in the final here," Zverev said post-match. "I know it's going to be an extremely tough match tomorrow but I hope I can manage to play my best and give myself a chance.
"It's going to be his [Alcaraz] court for the next 15 years probably. It has been Rafa's [Nadal] court for the past 15 years and it's going to be his court for the next 15 years.
"I just hope I can give him some trouble and I hope I can manage to win tomorrow."
Tsitsipas was similarly strong on his first serve but had a much lower rate at only 56 per cent for the match. Zverev simply had more looks at his opponent's second serve, winning 15 points compared to Tsitsipas' eight, but with each holding a 44 per cent success rate.
The defending champion at Caja Magica capitalised when it mattered, though, claiming the opening three games in the deciding set to set up the eventual win.
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."
Zheng sets up Sabalenka meeting after reaching first WTA 1000 final in Wuhan
Zheng Qinwen is through to the Wuhan Open final after a straight-sets win over Wang Xinyu.
In a historic, first-ever all-Chinese semi-final at a WTA 1000 event, Zheng reached her first such final, prevailing 6-3 6-4.
There was little to separate the two in the opening exchanges – just as Zheng edged in front with the first break in the fourth game, Wang responded, levelling the scores back at 3-3.
However, Zheng rallied, successfully defending a break point on her way to winning the last three games in a row to take the first set.
Wang faced 12 break points throughout the match, but failed to defend one in the second-set opener, before protecting three as she took a 2-1 lead.
Despite her fight, the Olympic gold medallist dug deep once more, getting two back-to-back breaks in order to clinch clinching the match.
She will face Aryna Sabalenka, who has never lost a match in Wuhan, in the final on Sunday.
Data Debrief: Home favourite
It has been a banner year for Zheng, who is also still in with a chance of qualifying for the WTA finals. Including the Olympics, she has reached the final of four events during 2024, the most she has managed during a single season.
Only Qiang Wang and Shuai Peng (four each) have made more WTA level finals on Chinese soil than Zheng (three, Zhengzhou and Zhuhai in 2023 and Wuhan in 2024) among Chinese players in the Open Era.
In fact, Zheng is just the second Chinese player to reach the final of a WTA 1000 event since the introduction of the format in 2009, after Li Na.
Djokovic overcomes injury scare to set up Sinner final in Shanghai
Novak Djokovic is just one game away from securing a 100th Tour-level title after reaching the Shanghai Masters final with a straight-sets triumph over Taylor Fritz.
Djokovic needed a medical timeout deep into the second set, but was able to hold on to secure a 6-4 7-6 (8-6) victory to set up an encounter with Jannik Sinner in the final.
The Serbian missed three break points in the opening game, but was able to get his nose in front in the fifth game after breaking the American's serve.
Djokovic held his serve for the remainder to gain the early advantage, moving within touching distance of a record-extending 59th Masters 1000 final and his first of 2024.
But Fritz responded well in the second set, despite Djokovic producing some stunning tennis that included a brilliant backhand winner in the fifth game which drew applause from his American opponent.
The pair continued to trade blows, with a tie-break deciding whether the game would go the distance or Djokovic would reach a record fifth final in Shanghai.
And Djokovic held his nerve, fighting back from 5-3 down to seal his progression to Sunday's showpiece, becoming the 13th different ATP Masters 1000 finalist so far this year.
Data Debrief: Djokovic one away from history
With a fifth final at the Shanghai Masters, surpassing Andy Murray (four) for the outright most at the event, Djokovic has now reached five or more finals at each of the current ATP Masters 1000 events on hard court.
Fritz is now the sixth opponent Djokovic has defeated in each of their opening 10 head-to-head meetings at ATP level, along with Andreas Seppi, Gael Monfils, Jeremy Chardy, Marin Cilic and Milos Raonic.
Only Jimmy Connors (164), Roger Federer (157) and Ivan Lendl (146) in the Open Era have reached more ATP event finals than the Serbian (141).
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