Jannik Sinner may have won the ultimate prize at the Shanghai Masters, but Tomas Machac was also a winner at the event.

Machac reached his third ATP semi-final at the Shanghai Masters, denying a rematch between China Open finalists Sinner and Alcaraz at the same time.

The Czech ace beat the Spaniard in their quarter-final clash, with Machac sending a hilarious message to Alcaraz after their meeting.

Third seed Alcaraz, who had just beaten Sinner in the Beijing final, suffered a shock exit at the hands of the 30th seed.

The Italian was, however, too strong for Machac, both in terms of performance and indeed his powerful hitting.

That issue was referenced during the match, with the Czech star needing to change his racquet after laughing that Sinner had broken it because of how hard he had been hitting the ball.

Despite his exit, Machac was able to see the funny side. Thanking his supporters on Instagram, he then had a special message for the world number one, saying: “Congrats to Jannik Sinner for his great match, please spare my racquet next time.”

Machac can be extremely proud of his efforts in Shanghai, having now climbed eight places to 25th in the ATP rankings.

It is the 24-year-old’s best-ever career ranking, with further progression now on the cards thanks to his fantastic form.

He is still chasing a first ATP Tour title, but is going about that the right way with his 30-20 record this season, and of course with his win over Alcaraz.

The Shanghai Masters 30th seed, who also beat 11th seed Tommy Paul, has since moved on to the Almaty Open.

Machac is the fifth seed at the next event in the calendar, and begins his tournament against Timofey Skatov in the round of 32.