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Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will do battle for the 10th time in the final of the China Open in Beijing.
Alcaraz looks back to his best following a shock second-round exit at the US Open and produced some dazzling tennis in a 7-5 6-3 victory over third seed Daniil Medvedev.
Sinner, meanwhile, continues to shrug off the news he could face a doping ban after the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed against the finding of no fault or negligence in his case.
The world number one and defending champion made it 15 victories in a row, including a second grand slam crown at the US Open, by seeing off Chinese wild card Bu Yunchaokete 6-3 7-6 (3).
Alcaraz leads the head-to-head against Sinner 5-4 after winning both meetings in 2024, most recently a five-set semi-final clash at the French Open in June.
“It’s going to be a tough match,” said Sinner, who defeated Alcaraz in the last four 12 months ago. “We know each other very well but every match is different. I’m happy to be in the final.”
At the Japan Open in Tokyo, there was a dramatic third ATP Tour title for 20-year-old Arthur Fils, who defeated French compatriot Ugo Humbert 5-7 7-6 (6) 6-3.
Fils received treatment to his left ankle and was in deep trouble at 0-40 down in the eighth game of the second set but he recovered, saved a match point in the tie-break and went on to clinch victory.
It capped a brilliant week for the youngster, ranked 24, who beat Taylor Fritz, Matteo Berrettini, Ben Shelton and Holger Rune on his way to the final.
Meanwhile, Dan Evans battled to a 6-2 1-6 7-5 victory over Alex Bolt to qualify for the Shanghai Masters, where he will face Brazil’s Thiago Seyboth Wild in the first round.
Billy Harris was beaten 7-5 2-6 6-4 by Beibit Zhukayev but gained a first-round spot as a lucky loser and will play Italy’s Mattia Bellucci in his maiden appearance in the main draw at a Masters 1000 event.
