By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday November 16, 2024
Jannik Sinner made it 25 wins from his last 26 matches and set a final with Taylor Fritz at the ATP Finals in Turin.
Photo Source: Clive Brunskill/Getty
Jannik Sinner has been the best player on the ATP Tour in 2024, and the 23-year-old Italian is showing no signs of slowing down in the waning days of his best season to date.
The home favorite battled past Norway’s Casper Ruud, 6-1, 6-2 on Saturday in Turin to reach the title match at the ATP Finals for the second consecutive season. He will face American Taylor Fritz, who defeated two-time champion Alexander Zverev in Saturday’s first semifinal clash, for the title on Sunday.
“I raised my level," Sinner said after improving to 69-6 overall on the season. "I tried to be quite intense with each shot, so I’m very happy with today’s performance and I’m very happy to be in the final here again.”
Sunday's title match will be a rematch in more ways than one.
The first No.1 seed from Italy in the 55-year history of the ATP Finals will bid to become the first Italian champion against the 27-year-old American that he defeated in the finals of the US Open for his second Grand Slam singles title.
He owns a 3-1 lifetime record against Fritz, after defeating the Southern California native 6-4, 6-4 in round robin play earlier this week.
“It didn't feel anywhere near as one-sided as the Open,” Fritz said of the loss to Sinner in Turin. “I felt like the match for me felt closer than just like 4-4. Like I said, he played the big points better. He's the best player in the world. He's playing with a lot of confidence. That's something that you have to expect from him, to play the big points really well.”
Sinner was good on the big points against Ruud on Saturday as well. He stormed out of the gates, leading 3-0, but was nearly reeled back in when Ruud earned two break points to get back on serve in the fifth game.
Instead, Sinner won eight of the next nine points to take a double-break 5-1 lead, and closed out the set with an easy hold to 15 in the next game.
Windows of opportunity close quickly against the Italian, especially on an indoor hard court where his first-strike tennis can completely overwhelm most players.
Ruud had another small window with Sinner serving at 1-2 0-30 in the second set but again the run of play changed on a dime. Sinner won four points on the trot to hold and quickly broke Ruud for 3-2 in the second set. Moments after consolidating for 4-2 he rifled a forehand crosscourt return winner to convert his fourth break of the day and make the outcome academic at 5-2 with the double break.
He served out the match with ease in the next game, ending festivities at the one hour and nine-minute mark.
Sinner hit 23 winners against nine unforced errors; Ruud hit 10 winners and 14 unforced.
The Norwegian’s second serve was his biggest liability – he was only able to win 24 percent of points played behind his second offering.
Sinner next will take aim on becoming the third man to win an ATP Finals title on home soil this century, and the first to achieve the feat since Andy Murray triumphed at London’s O2 Arena in 2016. He could also join Roger Federer (2004, 2006-2007) and Novak Djokovic (2015, 2023) as the only men to have won the Australian open, the US Open and the Nitto ATP Finals in the same season.
Fritz, meanwhile, is the first American to reach the finals at the season-ending championships since James Blake in 2006. An American has not won the title since Pete Sampras in 1999.
“I am just trying to play the best I can tomorrow,” Sinner said. “Anything can happen but I have more experience from last year, I’ve grown as a player – hopefully tomorrow is going to be a good day.”