Sinner conquers fritz for maiden ATP finals crown

TURIN: Jannik Sinner bookended his stellar season in style Sunday by capturing his maiden ATP Finals trophy.

The home favourite produced a near-flawless performance to down Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 and become the first Italian champion in the tournament’s 55-year history. Sinner’s standout year, which began with victory at the Australian Open, has concluded with his first title on home soil. All dimensions of Sinner’s vastly improved game were on full display throughout the contest, but his serve proved to be the distinct weapon, from which he won 83 per cent (33/40) of points.

“It’s amazing, it’s my first title in Italy and it means so much to me,” said Sinner, who improved to 50-3 on hard courts in 2024. “It’s something very special. I just tried to understand what works best for each opponent, trying to play my best possible tennis. That was the key.

“It was a very high-level tournament from my side. At times, I couldn’t have played better, so I am very happy.”

With his straight-sets triumph, Sinner became the first player to win the ATP Finals without dropping a set since Ivan Lendl in 1986, highlighting the ruthless season that he has enjoyed on the Tour in 2024.

After notching his Tour-leading 70th win of the season, Sinner has joined Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as the only men to win the Australian Open, US Open and ATP Finals in the same season. The 23-year-old also became the first player born in the 2000s to capture the trophy at the prestigious season finale, having fallen to Djokovic in last year’s title clash.

In a rematch of the US Open final and Tuesday’s round-robin match, Sinner produced an expertly measured performance to limit Fritz’s ability to gain a foothold. The Italian was relentless from both wings from the back of the court as he eased to a 85-minute victory, improving to 4-1 in the pair’s ATP Head2Head series.

Following his run to the championship match in Turin, Fritz has ensured that he will reach a new career-high of No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings on Monday. The 27-year-old was bidding to become the first American champion at the event since Pete Sampras in 1999, but came unstuck by a steely Sinner, who extended his winning streak to 11 matches.

Buoyed by the 12,500-strong crowd inside the Inalpi Arena, Sinner applied significant pressure to crack Fritz’s serve in the seventh game. The American saved three break points, but was unable to fend off the World No. 1, who dragged him around the court before producing an inch-perfect drop shot to break on his fourth attempt.