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.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
Matvei Michkov did not score on Monday, but the Philadelphia rookie had a hand in both goals as hosts the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators. Ryan Poehling and Jamie Drysdale got the goals for the Flyers (31-36-9, 71 points), who won their third straight. Michkov and Travis Konecny assisted on both. Ivan Fedotov stopped 28 shots to earn his first win since March 1, ending a personal six-game losing streak. Zachary L’Heureux got the lone goal for Nashville. Michael McCarron and Brady Skjei got the assists for the Predators (27-39-8, 62 points), who have just four goals in their
RSS