Jannik Sinner caps stellar season with ATP Finals win over Taylor Fritz

By Janina Nuno RiosReuters

Home favorite and world number one Jannik Sinner became the first Italian to win the ATP Finals title after a dominant 6-4 6-4 victory over American Taylor Fritz.

Sinner, who lost last year’s final to Novak Djokovic, made no mistake this time around as he finished undefeated and without dropping a set to win NZ$8,325,000 in prize money .

In a rematch of this year’s US Open final, Sinner, 23, broke Fritz’s serve with a beautiful drop shot to take a 4-3 lead before clinching the opener with his 10th ace of the match.

Fritz, the first American to reach the final since James Blake in 2006, also lost his serve in the second set when hitting a long forehand that allowed the Italian to seal the match in 85 minutes.

“It’s incredible. Just an incredible week. For me it’s a first title in Italy, so it means so much to me. I’m very happy with it, it’s very special,” said Sinner, who also beat Fritz in the group stage. in Turin, declared in court.

“I just try to understand what works best for each opponent, try to play the best tennis possible. That was the key, I played a high level tournament on my own. Sometimes I couldn’t not play better, so I’m very happy.”

Sinner’s extraordinary year may have been overshadowed by an anti-doping controversy, but on the field he proved almost unstoppable, winning 26 of his last 27 matches and a tour-leading eight titles.

With his 70th victory of the season, Sinner also became the first player to win the ATP Finals without losing a set since Ivan Lendl in 1986.

Despite the defeat, Fritz will reach a career-high fourth place in the rankings when the new list is released on Monday.

“I just want to congratulate Jannik and his team. Honestly, it’s been a crazy year. It’s really impressive,” Fritz, 27, said.

“Thank you to my team and my support. It’s been a great week for me. I’ve felt love all week.”

Earlier, Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz won the doubles title after beating Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic 7-6(5) 7-6(6) to become the first German duo to win the tournament.

-Reuters