Jannik Sinner has his first ATP Finals crown firmly in his sights after crushing Casper Ruud 6-1, 6-2 on Saturday to set up a title decider with Taylor Fritz, the man he beat to win the US Open two months ago.
Roared on by a partisan home crowd in Turin, Sinner extended his winning streak to 10 matches with another dominating display which showed why he is the first Italian to top the ATP’s end-of-season world rankings.
The 23-year-old has reacted to losing last year’s final to Novak Djokovic by displacing the Serbian tennis icon at the top of the game, winning seven tournaments this season including his debut Grand Slam victory at the Australian Open before triumphing in New York in September.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Sinner barely gave Ruud time to breathe as he rattled off the first three games and took the first set in half an hour, before sweeping to a comprehensive victory.
“It’s a great, great feeling. It’s really special playing here,” Sinner said. “It’s a really important tournament, last year we lost the final, this year we’ve got a chance to try again and do better than we did last season.”
“But regardless of how it goes tomorrow, it’s been an emotional week with some great moments,” he added.
Photo: AFP
Ruud, who had not played Sinner for three years before Saturday, compared the shots he faced to “rockets” and was struck by how much he has improved.
“You feel like unless you hit a ball with really good depth or close to the sidelines, and even if you hit close to the sidelines but not fast enough, he’s going to rip it back at you,” Ruud said.
“I got to practice with him here earlier leading up to the tournament. He also kicked my ass there. In a way I knew what I was facing today,” he added.
Fritz has a task on his hands to become the first US Finals winner since Pete Sampras 25 years ago, as he has been comfortably beaten both times he has faced Sinner this year, with straight sets victories in the US Open final and the group stage in Turin. The world No. 5 is the first US man to make the final since James Blake in 2006 after a thrilling 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/3) triumph over Alexander Zverev.
Fritz has a chance for revenge on Sinner for the US Open final defeat, following a grueling match in northern Italy.
Both players had chances to take control in a topsy-turvy third set, but failed to capitalize on a host of break points before Fritz held his nerve better in the tie-break to claim a spot in the final.
Fritz managed to save three break points in game five of the third set, just when it looked like Zverev was set to take control of the match.
Zverev was aiming for a tour-leading 70th win of the season, but his winning streak was snapped at eight matches after coming into Saturday’s clash having not dropped a single set or service game in Turin.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
Sumo is facing a potential chasm at the top of the ancient sport for the first time in more than 30 years after the only yokozuna, Terunofuji, announced his retirement yesterday. The Mongolian-born 33-year-old has struggled with injuries and withdrew from the ongoing New Year Grand Sumo Tournament in Tokyo on Thursday after forfeiting his bout. He told reporters that he was retiring to train young wrestlers after “a tough 14 years” in the ring. “I’ve given everything, but at this tournament, I wasn’t able to perform as I’d like, and you shouldn’t enter the ring if your mind and body are
RSS