By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday November 17, 2023
The top four players in the ATP are set for a grand finale at the ATP Finals in Turin.
Photo Source: TTV
It’s all to play for at the ATP Finals in Turin.
The top four seeds – and top four players in the ATP rankings – have all qualified for the semifinals, setting up a blockbuster final weekend of the ATP season.
Who will come out on top in Turin? Let’s have a look at the semifinal matchups to see what we can glean.
Jannik Sinner vs Daniil Medvedev
Head-to-Head: Medvedev leads 6-2
Last meeting: Sinner d. Medvedev 7-6(7), 4-6, 6-3 in Vienna final
2023 record: Tied, 2-2
First meeting: 2020, Marseille, round of 16, Medvedev d. Sinner 1-6, 6-1, 6-2
What they’re saying:
Medvedev on Sinner: “At this moment he's in top form. I mean, this result prove it. So he can do everything. He can do serve and volley, but at the same time he can stay at the baseline and be very good. Some dropshots, slice, down the line, cross. He can do every shot and that's why he's a top player.”
Medvedev, on their last meeting:
“I felt like in Vienna I made a good response to what he did in Beijing, but I still lost. I need to be even better, to respond better to his shots. I mean, here he played unbelievable, but he still lost two sets. That's what I'm going to try to aim for: try to play like guys who won the set from him. I need to definitely be at my absolute best and better than today tomorrow.”
Sinner, on his evolving physical fitness:
“I always say when you are 22 years old, you can only improve and learn, no? My process, especially this year, was a good process because we practiced a lot also during tournaments. We didn't play a couple tournaments to practice, to get better physically. This for me, in my way and everything, helped me a lot to also come end of the season quite fresh, not only physically but also mentally, ready to play, even if I know in my mind that after here and Davis Cup, it's finished.”
Sinner, on recording his first win over World No.1 Djokovic in Turin:
“Putting together all circumstances, playing here in Turin against the No. 1 in the world, he won 24 Grand Slams, with such an atmosphere and everything, I think it's in the top, top, no? Obviously, as I said before, even if I would have lost today, the match was really good. Also for my mind was really important to go close this match so in my mind I know I can really trying to win against him also for the next matches.”
Sinner v Medvedev, By the Numbers
16-1 - Sinner has dropped just one match on an indoor court this season.
60 – Both Sinner (60-14) and Medvedev (66-17) have earned at least 60 wins this season. The pair join Alcaraz as the only three players to hit that mark in 2023.
6 – Medvedev won the first six matches he played against Sinner, but has lost the last two in Beijing and Vienna.
2020 - Medvedev won the title at the ATP Finals in London in 2020, where he became the 1st player in tournament history to defeat World No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 (d. Djokovic, Nadal and Thiem). Medvedev and Djokovic (six previous titles) are the only two former champions remaining in Turin.
1 – Sinner is the first Italian to ever play the semifinals at the ATP Finals. He’s also the first Italian man to ever record 60 wins in a season and the highest-ranked Italian in ATP history (at No.4).
Novak Djokovic vs Carlos Alcaraz
Head-to-Head: Tied 2-2
Last meeting: Djokovic d. Alcaraz 5-7, 7-6(7), 7-6(4) in Cincinnati final.
2023 record: Djokovic leads 2-1.
First meeting: 2022, Madrid, SF, Alcaraz d. Djokovic 6-7(5), 7-5, 7-6(5).
What they’re saying:
Alcaraz, on what he learned from a tough match against Djokovic at Roland-Garros:
“Probably I'm stronger mentally. Right now, comparing to Paris, I've spoken about dealing with the pressure, dealing with tough, tough moments. In Paris I didn't deal with the pressure. I learned about that situation. Then came Wimbledon, came Cincinnati. It was a really, really good match.
“I think facing someone like Novak, you have to stay strong mentally and deal with the pressure that he puts on you in every ball, in every point. I think I learned a lot about that.”
Djokovic, on the rise of young players in 2023:
“The field is strong. The generation of Alcaraz, Rune, Sinner is very strong. It's probably the three players that will carry this sport in the future but also in the present because they are right at the top of the game, all of them.
“Of course, it's expected for young players to be hungry, to be motivated, and to constantly look for ways to improve, get stronger, faster, better, so they can beat the best players in the world, and clinch some, yeah, biggest trophies in the game.”
Alcaraz v Djokovic, By the Numbers
6 – Six-time ATP Finals champion Djokovic is bidding for a record seventh title, which would allow him to break free of Roger Federer (also 6) on the all-time Nitto ATP Finals title list.
48-18 – By winning the title, Djokovic would become the second player to record 50 wins at the ATP Finals. Federer (59) is the all-time win leader at the event.
$1,105,000 – A semi-final win at this event is worth over a million dollars.
2006 – Alcaraz is the youngest semifinalist at the Nitto ATP Finals since Rafael Nadal in 2006.
8-1 – Djokovic has won 8 of 9 indoor matches in 2023 and owns a 193-49 record indoors. Alcaraz is 2-2 indoors in 2023, and 18-8 lifetime.