Sinner Rolls Into ATP Finals Title Match, Fritz Survives Zverev In Thriller

Home hero Jannik Sinner cruised into his second straight ATP Finals championship match on Saturday blasting past Casper Ruud 6-1, 6-2.

“I felt I was returning well in the first games of each set and then when going up a break I tried to be very concentrated with service games,” Sinner said to the ATP. “I tried to be intense with each shot and I’m very happy with the performance and to be in the final again.”

The unstoppable Italian has now won 25 of his last 26 matches losing only to Carlos Alcaraz in Beijing. And this week, he hasn’t dropped a set or lost more than four games in a set and has only lost serve just once. In eight sets of tennis, he’s faced just six break points.

Sunday, he’ll get Taylor Fritz once again in a rematch from their round robin and of course the US Open final.

Fritz outlasted 2-time champion Alexander Zverev 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(3) in thrilling fashion.

Into his first ATP Finals title match, Fritz capitalized on the Zverev miscues in the breaker to reach another huge final.

“I felt like I played an almost perfect first set, but things can change so quickly when you’re playing someone like Sascha,” Fritz said told the ATP. “I found myself in some tough spots in the third, when we both started to get on each other’s serves even more.

“When I was trying to be aggressive I didn’t feel like it was doing much. I just told myself at the end that I had to fight and be solid and tried to take care of my serve the best I could and give him absolutely nothing from the back.”

Zverev has now lost his last four to Fritz.

“US Open, he played better than me,” Zverev said. “Laver Cup, I was in hospital for two days before the match. Here I thought, to be honest, the second and third set I thought I played better than him. I didn’t use my chances in the third set at all. I feel like I had more than enough. Played a below-average tiebreak, I would say. A lot worse than what the level was throughout the third set from my end.”

The German will still finish No. 2 on the year.

As for Fritz, he’ll try again to knock off Sinner, this for the biggest title of his career and doing so in front of his home fans. But Sinner just beat his earlier in the week.

“It didn’t feel anywhere near as one-sided as the Open,” Fritz said of the round robin loss to Sinner. “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.

“I’ve made a lot of improvements in my game. For me at the US Open, the biggest thing was, like, I just didn’t honestly play great. I didn’t serve great. If I don’t serve well, it sets up the rest of my game for failure, I’d say.”

Sinner will try to wrap of 2024 with the three biggest hard court titles — Australian Open, US Open, ATP Finals.

“Tomorrow is going to be a very interesting day in any case. I’m happy again to be in this position. It’s a very special occasion. Sundays in each tournament means that you had a great, great week,” Sinner said. “Hopefully I’m going to enjoy tomorrow and we see what’s coming out. I’m happy to be again in this position.”

Someone Sunday wins their first ATP Finals title.