By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday August 19, 2024
Jannik Sinner may not be in perfect shape physically, but as a competitor, he’s very much in his prime.
The Italian worked through nagging hip issues this week in Cincinnati and emerged as a first-time champion on Monday, defeating American Frances Tiafoe 7-6(4), 6-2 to become the youngest champion at the event since Andy Murray in 2008.
“It was a very difficult week, tough week. I'm very happy about today's match,” Sinner said on court after his 96-minute conquest of 26-year-old Tiafoe . “It was very tough mentally. Had such an amazing run here, and I tried to do my best today.
"We both were quite tired from yesterday. We both felt a lot of tension, but I'm very glad about [the] level I played today, especially in the important moments.”
It was a tense tussle in the opening set, but Sinner held firm, saving all three break points he faced and eventually converting his second set point in a tiebreak which was played at a very high level.
Tiafoe wouldn’t see many chances after that. He was broken in the first game of the second set and again for 4-1. Tiafoe mounted a late push, saving a trio of championship points to hold for 2-5, but Sinner served out the match to love to improve to 5-0 in ATP finals in 2024, and 15-4 in finals overall.
Sinner, who missed the Olympics due to tonsillitis, and has been bothered by a hip injury since the spring, once again showed his capacity for calm in the storm of big moments on big stages.
He is the first ATP player to win multiple Masters 1000 titles, and one of just seven active players to have won three or more Masters 1000 titles.
“It has been a tough week, some ups and downs, which is normal to have,” Sinner said. “But how I handled the very important moments in each match, I'm very happy.”
It was a good moment for Tiafoe despite failing in his bid to become the first American man to win in Cincinnati since Andy Roddick in 2006. He saved a pair of match points on Sunday against Holger Rune to reach his maiden Masters 1000 final.
It has been a disappointing season for Tiafoe after parting ways with longtime coach Wayne Ferreira prior to the season. But he has commenced working with coach David Witt, the former coach of Venus Williams and Jessica Pegula, and picked up his game since Wimbledon, where he nearly upset Carlos Alcaraz in the third round.
“I’ve been struggling for a really long time, to have a week like this means a lot, positive strides, especially going to New York – let’s stay with it,” he said.
Tiafoe will return to the Top 20 in the rankings this week, joining four other Americans to mark the first time that five American men have ranked inside the ATP’s Top-20 at the same time since 1997.