ATP Finals: Sinner beats Medvedev to knock Russian out of contention, Fritz through

Jannik Sinner beat Daniil Medvedev 6-3 6-4 at the ATP Finals, meaning that the Italian and Taylor Fritz advance to the semi-finals as the top two players of the Ilie Nastase Group.

The Russian needed a straight sets win to advance to the last four, with the Italian having already secured his win due to prior matches.

The first set was largely served-dominated, with neither player losing two or more points on serve until 3-2 where Medvedev faced two break points, ultimately saving both and holding thanks to a few unforced errors from the Italian. However, lightning wouldn’t strike twice in the Russian’s next service game, with Sinner utilising his superior power and pace to break for 5-3, before serving out the set to love with superb spot serving.

In the second set, the Italian continued his march towards the finish line, breaking at 1-1 with back-to-back thunderous groundstrokes – drawing audible gasps from the crowd. When all looked secure, and with Sinner cruising, it was Medvedev who started to push a little harder, and extend the rallies further. The tactic proved fruitful, breaking back for 3-3 in the set. Despite being qualified, Sinner was not going to go down easily in the second set, breaking on his first opportunity ay 4-4, before serving out the match, 6-4 in the second.

During his on-court interview, the Italian stated that having his semi-final place secured earlier in the day did not affect him:

“I’m here trying to find new ways to improve as a player, I’m here trying to win as many matches as I can. Me and Daniil know each other well, so every time we step on court we try to change something tactically. I felt like today I was ready to see what he was going to do, and then we’ll see what’s coming in the next round, and the next time I play Daniil again.”

Sinner is defending finalist points from last year’s edition, and it will take a supreme performance to stop him from righting the wrongs of 12 months ago at the Inalpi Arena.

Ilie Nastase Group:

• Jannik Sinner – 3 wins 0 losses
• Taylor Fritz – 2 wins 1 loss
• Daniil Medvedev – 1 win 2 losses
• Alex de Minaur – 0 wins – 3 losses

You might also like this

Fritz defeats De Minaur to knock Australian out of ATP Finals

tennis majors

De Minaur “not satisfied” with flatlining, eyes improvement next season

tennis majors