Somdev Devvarman extended his excellent run at the ATP Shanghai Challenger by reaching the singles finals with a hard-fought win over Italy's Luca Vanni.
Djokovic to face World number 204 Valentin Vacherot next.
Sinner's retirement and world number one Alcaraz's withdrawal due to an ankle injury blows the draw wide open, with Djokovic in the hunt for a record-extending fifth title in Shanghai.
Defending champion Jannik Sinner defeated Daniel Altmaier to avenge a loss two years ago at the French Open as he marched into the third round of the Shanghai Masters with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over the German.
Novak Djokovic felt unaffected by his recent losses to the top two players in the world, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, saying that while it is not ideal to lose big matches to the top talent regularly
India's singles challenge has already ended with both Sumit Nagal and Ramkumar Ramanathan making first round exits.
The bonus amount, a 177% increase on the previous season's payout, will be distributed to players based on performance at the nine ATP 1000 tournaments, which rank just below the four Grand Slams in prestige.
Jannik Sinner beat defending champion and Spanish second seed Carlos Alcaraz to win his first Wimbledon title.
Factbox on Italy's Jannik Sinner, who beat Germany's Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-3 in the Australian Open final
Novak Djokovic is ready to challenge Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz at the Grand Slam stage when he returns to action at the Australian Open after an underwhelming campaign this year, the 24-times champion said.
Former world number one Novak Djokovic, the last surviving member of tennis' "Big Four", said he does not plan on stopping any time soon but admitted that the retirement of rivals Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafa Nadal has been overwhelming.
The two cases shocked the tennis world with many fuming at how they were handled by the authorities.
Rohan Bopanna clinched the coveted No. 1 spot in men's doubles at the Australian Open 2024
Sharapova was broken in the first game but fought back to draw level before going on to take the first set with a hold to love.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
India's Divij Sharan broke into the top-100 in the ATP doubles ranking as he jumped 15 places to a career best 94th spot, while Yuki Bhambri also achieved his career-best singles rank with a nine-place jump to 179 in the latest list released on Tuesday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Two-time champion Novak Djokovic thumped Spain's David Ferrer 6-4, 6-2 to march into the last four of the Shanghai Masters on Friday and set up a semi-final showdown with third seed Roger Federer.
World No 4 Del Potro is still sidelined with a right knee injury sustained in Shanghai last month.
Federer has been brandishing an aggressive style of play, forcing the action and rushing in to half-volley weak second serves to forge an advantage.
Yuki Bhambri advanced to the singles second round of the ATP Tashkent Open and reached the doubles quarter-finals, partnering compatriot Divij Sharan, following an upset victory over the top seeds on Tuesday.
The Spaniard found himself outpaced 6-2, 6-4 after a breathtaking semi-final display of power and touch by the 2009 US Open champion at the Shanghai Masters.
The new scoring format for doubles matches in ATP tournaments and ATP Challenger series comes into play at the Chennai Open.
India's Yuki Bhambri fashioned an impressive if not dominating win to clinch his second title of the season with a 6-2, 7-6(4) defeat of second seed Evgeny Donskoy in the final of the $50,000 KPIT-MSLTA Challenger, in Pune, on Saturday.
Vishnu Vardhan joined the Indian Davis Cup team in Chandigarh on Sunday and said the hosts are familiar with the playing style of the New Zealand squad that touched down for the Asia-Oceania tie starting September 14.
With twin successes on the Asian swing of the ATP Tour, Novak Djokovic is back in the reckoning in a comparatively less successful year. And with no points to defend in the weeks ahead, the Serb, says Bikash Mohapatra, is the lone challenger to Roger Federer in the race for the year-end No.1 ranking.
'I physically need to get a little better and hopefully over time I get a little bit faster... I think I will'
Halep sustained the injury last month while training for the Wuhan Open, where she lost in the second round. She then retired midway through her opener in Shanghai.
The 14-time Grand Slam winner said he is happy and proud to have reached the summit of the game for a fourth separate spell.
Australian Nick Kyrgios caused more on-court controversy in his defeat by unseeded German Mischa Zverev at the Shanghai Masters on Wednesday with a listless performance that could land him in trouble with the ATP.
India face one of the most ferocious Davis Cup challenges at home as nothing less than their best would be required to challenge world number two Serbia, who will test skill and strength of the hosts even without world number one Novak Djokovic in Bangalore from Friday.
Roger Federer has now won all the seven finals he has contested in Cincinnati. Rediff.com takes a look at a few other events that have ensured prolific returns for the Swiss master.
Roger Federer has his sights set on ending the year as the world's top-ranked player after the 33-year-old claimed his fifth title of the year in his home town.
Russian sixth seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova claimed her third title of the year by beating seventh-seeded Australian Daria Gavrilova in the final of the Hong Kong Tennis Open on Sunday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
Nadal faced no break points in a ruthless display to set up a meeting with Canadian Denis Shapovalov.
There comes a moment in all great sporting careers when the puzzle fits together and for Kei Nishikori it arrived on a sweltering early September afternoon in New York.
Audacious coups by Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber have transformed the tennis landscape and they will begin 2017 eyeing the kind of domination that few would have thought possible at the start of a seismic year.
All major sporting events in the Paris region were suspended on Saturday as France mourned the victims of the attacks in the capital city the night before that left 129 people dead and 352 wounded.
Novak Djokovic destroyed a woeful Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-1, 6-2 to book his place in the semi-finals of the Paris Masters.
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