Novak Djokovic overcame physical discomfort to beat Taylor Fritz 6-4, 7-6 (6) and move closer to a 100th career title and a record-extending fifth at the Shanghai Masters on Saturday.

By also reaching the final, top-ranked Jannik Sinner ensured he will be the ATP year-end No. 1 and the first Italian to achieve that feat.

“(I’ve won) many titles, had great battles and great performances,” the 37-year-old Djokovic said. “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.”

Fellow great Roger Federer has 103 titles and Jimmy Connors leads men with 109 in the Open era.

Top-ranked Sinner will chase his seventh ATP title of the year after beating Tomas Machac 6-4, 7-5.

Djokovic improved to 10-0 in career matches against Fritz, who blew a 5-3 lead in the second-set tiebreaker and a set point at 6-5 up.

Djokovic was clearly struggling for mobility and balance with his left knee heavily strapped.

“It always takes it out of me, these kinds of battles, but particularly towards the end of the tournament,” Djokovic said. “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.”

Djokovic leads 4-3 overall against Sinner, who has won the last two — including in the Australian Open semifinals.

Earlier, Sinner weathered a nearly two-hour baseline storm from No. 33-ranked Machac, who beat No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.

The Italian has a shot at his third Masters title in 2024 following victories in Miami and Cincinnati, to go with his wins at the Australian Open and U.S. Open.

• Second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka rallied from a slow start to beat an in-form Coco Gauff 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals to advance to her third straight Wuhan final and preserve her perfect record at the tournament.

Sabalenka will face seventh-ranked Zheng Qinwen in the final. The Paris Olympics champion beat No. 51-ranked Wang Xinyu 6-3, 6-4. Sabalenka will be bidding for her fourth title of the season, which includes the Australian Open and U.S. Open.

The Belarussian’s 16th straight victory at Wuhan ended Gauff’s own recent win streak at nine, including the China Open title last week. But it looked anything but certain for Sabalenka as she crashed 6-1 in the opening set.

“In the first set she was just crushing it,” Sabalenka said. “Whatever she was doing, everything was flying in. Everything was so aggressive. I didn’t have much opportunities.”

In a fight between the last two U.S. Open champions, Gauff led by a break early in the second but Sabalenka responded to pull level at 4-4 and saved a break point on serve to take a 5-4 lead.

Serving to stay in the set, Gauff was broken as Sabalenka hit a lunging forehand volley to force a deciding set.

The Belarussian carried her momentum into the third, extending her streak to seven games for a 3-0 lead. Gauff fought back to level at 4-4, but Sabalenka held strong to halt Gauff’s run.

Rookie McCarty leads at Black Desert

Matt McCarty took a two-stroke lead into the final round in his second PGA Tour start, shooting a 7-under 64 in the inaugural Black Desert Championship.

A three-time winner this season on the Korn Ferry Tour to earn an instant promotion to the PGA Tour, McCarty had a 19-under 194 total at Black Desert Resort in the tour’s first event in Utah in 61 years.

McCarty, 26, played a five-hole stretch on the front nine in 6 under — highlighted by an eagle chip-in on the par-5 seventh.

Stephan Jaeger shot a 68 to drop two strokes back with Joe Highsmith (62), Kevin Streelman (63) and Harris English (66).

• Mao Saigo of Japan shot a 7-under 65 to take a one-shot lead after three rounds of the LPGA Shanghai. It was her second consecutive round of 65. Saigo, who is 18 under overall, is looking for her first win on the LPGA Tour. She was one shot clear of Ruoning Yin of China, who carded a 63.

• Swede Jesper Svensson shot a third-round 67 to take a one-stroke lead at the Open de France outside Paris over Denmark’s Thorbjørn Olesen (67) and England’s Sam Bairstow (65).

Beterbiev undisputed champion after win

Artur Beterbiev beat Dmitry Bivol by a points decision to become the first undisputed light-heavyweight champion in the division for more than 20 years.

The 39-year-old Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) had won all 20 of his previous fights by knockout but was forced the distance by his fellow Russian rival in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in the early hours of this morning.

In the end, two judges scored it 115-113, 116-112 for Beterbiev, with a third judge scoring it as a 114-114 draw.

It was the first undisputed title fight in the division since 2002 and was the first time all four major world titles — WBO, WBA, IBF and WBC — have been up for grabs in the four-belt era.

Grand Slam Smile wins California Distaff

Grand Slam Smile and jockey Frank Alvarado remained undefeated at Santa Anita by winning the $100,000 California Distaff Handicap for Cal-bred fillies and mares. The 3-year-old filly, based in the Bay Area, is 5 for 5 at Santa Anita and 6 for 10 overall after outfinishing Big Summer and favorite Stay and Scam in the downhill turf sprint. Grand Slam Smile paid $23.40.

• Subsanador, the circuit’s top older horse after his California Crown Stakes win last month, has an ankle injury and will miss the Breeders’ Cup Classic Nov. 2 at Del Mar, trainer Richard Mandella told the Daily Racing Form.

— Kevin Modesti

USMNT tops Panama in coach’s debut

Mauricio Pochettino won his debut as U.S. coach, getting a 49th-minute goal from Yunus Musah and a stoppage-time goal from Ricardo Pepi for a 2-0 win over Panama in Austin, Texas.