Sinner defeats Medvedev to reach final of the Nitto ATP Finals
Jannik Sinner's late-season surge has propelled him to the brink of Nitto ATP Finals success.
The Italian produced a gutsy semi-final performance Saturday at the prestigious season finale, defeating Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-1 and securing his place in the championship match.
In the face of an elite opponent and the expectations of a adoring home crowd, Sinner delivered a largely ice-cold performance filled with clean baseline hitting to extend his unbeaten week in Turin.
"[It is an] incredible feeling," said the 22-year-old Sinner. "It was a really tough match today. I felt that he was playing more aggressively, especially in the first set. Somehow I made the break and from that point I felt better."
"The second set was really tight but then he played a very good tie-break. In the third set I just tried to stay a bit more aggressive and mixing up my game a little bit. I am happy to be in the final."
Sinner needed to be at his best throughout the two-hour, 29-minute fight to defeat Medvedev, who is known for his toughness. Crucially, the 22-year-old responded admirably to the disappointment of losing the second-set tie-break, marching through the decider.
Sinner is now 3-6 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, having defeated Medvedev to become champion in both Beijing and Vienna in October after failing to beat him in their first six tour-level meetings. Sinner's victory over Medvedev was part of a larger run of hot form for Sinner, who is 17-2 since the US Open.
In Sunday's final, Sinner will face either Novak Djokovic or Carlos Alcaraz, who meet in another thrilling semi-final on Saturday night inside the Pala Alpitour.
The Italian defeated World No. 1 Djokovic for the first time in four tour-level meetings in a group-stage clash on Tuesday in Turin, while he defeated Alcaraz in the Beijing semi-finals in October.
Sinner will become the first Italian winner in the Nitto ATP Finals' 54-year history if he defeats Djokovic or Alcaraz and lifts the trophy. By becoming the unbeaten champion in Turin, he would also earn $4,801,500, the largest payday in tennis history.
Medvedev settled in quicker to Saturday's afternoon semi-final. The World No. 3 dominated the early baseline exchanges and created the match's first break point in the third game. Sinner, on the other hand, held firm and then found a high-quality moment in the next game that seemed to flip a switch inside him.
Sinner crushed a huge backhand down-the-line winner as Medvedev was serving at 40/0, and the home favourite reeled off the four points that followed to clinch a crucial break. The Italian, who broke from 40/0 down earlier this week against Djokovic, dialed in on serve and looked indifferent as he went on to win the first set.
Despite this setback, Medvedev continued to press Sinner with his trademark consistency and deep groundstrokes into the second set, but the Italian showed no signs of weakness.
Sinner defeated Medvedev at his own game for two crucial points in a row, outlasting the World No. 3 in extended baseline rallies, at 3-4 and 15/30 on his own serve. Despite the fact that he still had a break point at 40/A, the Italian dug deep to escape the game.
Medvedev's perseverance was rewarded in the second-set tie-break, when he took advantage of a quick start to force a decider and dampen the spirits of the home fans.
Nonetheless, the 26-year-old was unable to carry that momentum into the third set. He saved two break points from 0-1, 15/40, but when faced with a third in the same game, he gambled on a big second serve and went long, handing Sinner an early advantage.
Sinner took command and gave an increasingly frustrated Medvedev few chances to mount a comeback. In the sixth game, the Italian clinched his second break of the set before serving out to love and raising his arms to the ecstatic home crowd.
SportsLigue