Alcaraz failed to take advantage of the numerous opportunities he had to break the rival’s serve (only one of eight), while Machac achieved it twice, both in the second set.
The match began to slip away for the Murcian when he missed two break points in games 3 and 7 of the first set, which forced him to go to the tie-break, which he lost against an opponent who played well in the decisive moments despite committing numerous direct fouls (42 per 20).
“Against him you have no other option; you have to play very well if you want to beat him,” Machac declared.
Before, it was the fourth time in five matches they have played this season that Sinner (23 years old) beat Medvedev (28), who only managed to beat the Italian in the Wimbledon quarterfinals after a tremendous five-set battle.
With this victory, Sinner balances his direct duels with Medvedev (seven victories for each).
With 27 winners and only 10 direct faults, Sinner dominated in a match that lasted 1h24, with few spectators in the stands of the Shanghai tennis complex.
The Russian with discomfort
The Italian’s pulse only seemed to tremble in the last game of the match, when after missing a first match point he gave Medvedev the only break opportunity of the entire match, although Sinner quickly saved it and closed the match with a serve and volley.
“Obviously I’m very happy with how I handled the game,” declared a Sinner who revealed that his rival did not play in full condition: “I think he had shoulder discomfort and couldn’t hit his forehand as he would have liked. I hope he recovers as soon as possible.”
Throughout the match, Medvedev kept touching his right shoulder, as he had done the day before, and received medical attention at various times.
Sinner has already won the Australian Open and the US Open this season and reached No. 1 in the ATP, although he is still pending the final resolution of his doping case.
Asked if he had ever dreamed of a career like that, the Italian acknowledged: “It’s better. You can’t plan something like that when you’re younger. You never know what’s going to happen in your career.”