There will be no Carlos Alcaraz-Jannik Sinner rematch in the Shanghai Masters semi-finals after the Spaniard fell victim to Czech rising star Tomas Machac in the last eight.

Machac won 7-6(5) 7-5, breaking twice in the second set and holding his nerve to serve out one of the biggest victories of his burgeoning career.

“I was playing unbelievable but I knew that my level of tennis today would be great, because I’m playing the best right now for sure,” Machac said afterwards.

“I beat Tommy Paul [in my] last match with an unbelievable performance. With these kind of players I have to play this level, otherwise it’s 6-2, 6-3 and you go home! There is no other option to play different tennis than this against them, so I’m happy I managed to play like this [for] two sets.”

The pair had only played once before, with Machac forced to retire in their Davis Cup round-robin clash last month due to an injury, but he won the first set in that encounter on a tie-break and brought unshakeable confidence to this meeting.

Alcaraz normally cuts a smiley and energetic figure on court, but the world No. 2 was visibly frustrated throughout this match, gesticulating and speaking animatedly to his box as Machac proved his equal.

“Actually I knew that I had a chance [to win], but you never know, even with [the best players], if you have [won] a set, 5-4 serving, it’s really far from winning the match,” Machac said.

“I was playing against him in the Davis Cup and it was great tennis, but I managed to play at this kind of level for just one set. Today was two. Enough!”

The Czech has previously beaten Novak Djokovic and now has just one left of the current ‘Big Three’ to beat: Sinner.

“I’m looking forward to that [semi-final], I’m really happy that I can play against the best ones,” he added. “I really enjoy it.”

The 23-year-old was under pressure early on serve, fighting to hold from deuce in his first two service games, while Alcaraz moved cleanly and swiftly through his own.

But Machac grew into the contest, going toe-to-toe with Alcaraz in baseline rallies, reading his game well and entertaining the crowd with some acrobatic jumping forehands – although his unforced error count racked up.

But his fearless hitting and astute tactics kept proceedings on serve and the pressure on Alcaraz, who had a testy exchange with his coaching team as a tie-break loomed.

The pair exchanged mini-breaks early in the tie-break before Machac pulled ahead for 5-2, but two hopelessly wayward forehands let Alcaraz back in. But Alcaraz was caught out by the speed on a Machac return and although he fired down an ace to save one set point, Machac charged forward and sealed the set with a brilliant smash.

Machac kept his level high, piling pressure on with his return game and breaking early to lead 2-1, but a wild sixth game saw all that hard work threaten to unravel. Three wild sprayed forehands opened up three break points, and although the Czech saved all three, his first serve was malfunctioning and he launched another shot out of court to hand over the break back at 3-3.

It was Alcaraz’s eighth chance to break in the match and momentum now swung his way as he held to 15, but Machac recovered to keep it on serve and stay focused.

At 5-5 another tie-break appeared on the cards, but the world No. 33 earned an opening on Alcaraz’s serve. A huge second serve ace saved one break point, but Machac produced a stunning cross-court pass with Alcaraz stranded at the net to break the Spaniard and serve for the match.

With Alcaraz scrambling in defence, Machac capped off a brilliant performance with an assured hold to love, controlling points from the net and playing an unreturnable winner into the centre of the court on match point.

Even Alcaraz – known for his speed and agility – couldn’t retrieve it and, after a muted celebration, the Czech 23-year-old moved into his first-ever Masters semi-final and brought an end to Alcaraz’s fine run in China.