ATP Finals: Fritz topples Alexander Zverev to set up final with Sinner

Jannik Sinner will look to cap one of the greatest hardcourt seasons of this century with his first ATP Finals title on Sunday as he reached the final in Turin with a devastating 6-1, 6-2 victory over Casper Ruud.

The world number 1 will face fifth seed Taylor Fritz after Fritz toppled Alexander Zverev in a tense, high-quality struggle to reach the final for the first time. In a nail-biting battle between two of the best servers in the world, Fritz narrowly defeated Zverev 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (3). The ATP season finale marks a rematch of the US Open final, in which Sinner dismantled Fritz in three sets to win his second Grand Slam title.

In what has developed into an extraordinary breakout season, Sinner has now compiled a 69-6 overall record in 2024 and is now 49-3 on hard courts. Only Carlos Alcaraz, twice, and Andrey Rublev have beaten him on his favorite surface this year. Having also reached the final last year with an unbeaten 4-0 run before losing to Novak Djokovic, On Sunday Sinner, who reached the final in Turin in 2023 before losing to Novak Djokovic, will attempt to win his eighth title of the win season.

“Very similar circumstances and moments because we already played in the round robin and now the final again, but I’ll just try to play as best as I can tomorrow,” said Sinner. “Anything can happen. I’m just happy to be back here. Since last year I feel like I have more experience, I’ve grown as a player and hopefully tomorrow will be a good day. If not, then another very positive week. This year has been a very positive year, so I am very happy.”

From the start, Sinner separated himself from Ruud by dominating the baseline with his ruthless depth, shot weight and consistency from both wings. Not only was Ruud completely overwhelmed from the baseline, even though he managed to impose himself with his heavy forehand, he simply could not consistently punch through the Italian’s top defense. Sinner completed a devastating performance with 23 winners and just nine unforced errors.

After one of the best weeks of his career, Fritz will rise to a new career-high world ranking: No. 4. As the first American to reach the final since James Blake in 2006, he also gets a second chance against Sinner this week. lost to the Italian in the group stage. Fritz has now also defeated Zverev four times in a row this year, including in the fourth round of Wimbledon and the quarter-finals of the US Open.

“The most important thing is that I trust my game and my level, and I don’t feel nearly as uncomfortable in these situations anymore because I’ve put myself in these situations and played a lot against the best guys at big events. Lately I feel more comfortable in the moment and have a lot of confidence in my game,” said Fritz.

As with their other victories this year, Fritz was able to neutralize almost all of Zverev’s strengths. He matched Zverev’s immense serve and, unlike many other players on tour, Fritz’s excellent backhand allows him to easily hold his weight in backhand rallies on the court, a pattern Zverev often uses to pin down opponents to switch off.

Deep into the third set, Fritz continued to serve brilliantly, locking down his play in key moments and refusing to offer free, unforced errors. While Fritz held his nerve, it was the German who buckled under the pressure, his forehand spraying stray errors at key points as Fritz completed a brilliant victory.