Sinner sees off De Minaur while Fritz beats angry Medvedev at ATP Finals
Home favorite Jannik Sinner made the ideal start to the ATP Finals in Turin with a straight sets victory over Alex de Minaur. Sinner recovered from losing his serve in the third game to record a 6–3, 6–4 win in 85 minutes in his first match since winning the Rolex Shanghai Masters on October 13.
“He played great in the beginning of the match, so I tried to stay there mentally, knowing that hopefully at some point I would get my tennis,” the world No. 1 said in an on-court interview. “It came quite early and I started to come back really well. My serve definitely needs to improve, but I’m really happy with the win and hopefully this can give me the confidence for the next one.”
Sinner’s victory moved him into joint top of the Ilie Nastase Group alongside American Taylor Fritz, who had earlier beaten the angry Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-3. Medvedev was cautioned for breaking his racket after serving three consecutive double faults to end the opening set.
The Russian then lost his cool again after a mishit Fritz lob landed on the baseline to seal the crucial break for 4-2 in the second set, throwing his racket and swiping at a microphone to earn a point penalty. Shortly afterwards the match was over and fifth seed Fritz was determined to maintain his focus no matter what was happening on the other side of the court.
“I definitely felt like he was going to reset at 5-3 and try as hard as he could to break me,” he told Sky Sports. ‘Sometimes when someone does that, it’s very easy to relax and think it’s done. Then you lower your level. I had to tell myself to stay focused at 5-3 and play a really good game because he was going to fight. Luckily I served a great match.”
Britain’s Henry Patten and Finland’s Harri Heliövaara enjoyed a winning debut in the season-ending event as they defeated 2023 finalists Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 7-6 (2) 6-4 in the doubles.
The British-Finnish duo are aiming to become the first team to win the Wimbledon and ATP Finals trophies in the same season since Mike Bryan and Jack Sock in 2018.