Jannik Sinner on Tuesday hit the accelerator at the end of each set as he cruised past Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 to close in on a semi-final spot at the ATP Finals in Turin.
In September, Sinner had to overcome raucous home support to win his previous meeting with the American as he claimed victory in the final of the US Open, also in straight sets.
This time, the Turin crowd was noisily behind the Italian.
Photo: AFP
“The crowd is helping me a lot,” Sinner said on the court.
The hard-hitting Fritz, ranked No. 5, put pressure on Sinner’s serve early in the first set. The American had the first break point of the match in the 14-minute seventh game, but could not take his chance.
Sinner responded at once, but wasted three break points in the next game before breaking to 15 in the 10th game to take the set.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“I was struggling to return his serve, but I am happy with how I handled the situation,” Sinner said.
The second set also went with serve until the 10th game, when Fritz double-faulted on Sinner’s first match point.
“It was a very tough match,” Sinner said. “We got to know each other very well in a Grand Slam final, we knew exactly what to expect today it was very aggressive as I was prepared for.”
Photo: AFP
Victory put Sinner top of the Ilie Nastase Group with just Daniil Medvedev to face. The home favorite could still be eliminated with a straight-sets loss.
Fritz faces Alex de Minaur who has lost both his matches so far.
In the afternoon match, former champion Medvedev brushed aside Finals debutant De Minaur 6-2, 6-4 to bounce back from an opening defeat and boost his hopes of making the knock-out phase.
Photo: AFP
The Russian, who lost his first group-stage match to Fritz, overpowered Australian De Minaur.
Medvedev, who lifted the title in 2020, did not face a single break point and broke De Minaur’s serve three times.
The fourth seed faces Sinner today.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“I decided not to care about it in a good way,” Medvedev said. “If I lose, the season is over, if I win I have another chance on Thursday... I’ll try and do the same the next match, so I don’t care.”
Both players battled to holds in their opening service games, but Medvedev broke for a 2-1 lead and never looked back. He struck 16 winners in the first set and then lost just two points behind his serve in the second.
A break in the ninth game of the second set proved decisive and he closed out victory with another comfortable hold.
Photo: EPA-EFE
In the John Newcombe Group, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz was to play Andrey Rublev of Russia after press time last night.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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