Jannik Sinner ended his group stage campaign perfect after defeating Holger Rune 6-2 5-7 6-4 at the ATP Finals.
A battling win from the Italian means he wins the group and will take on the runner-up of the other group.
Meanwhile Novak Djokovic will join him in the semi-finals meaning Holger Rune’s season is over.
It was a lightening quick start from Sinner as he continued to build on the confident tennis that saw him beat Novak Djokovic on Tuesday.
Meanwhile Rune was sluggish as he looked flat, committing several unforced errors.
A double break lead was created by Sinner as the Italian took a 4-0 lead with the forehand making Rune move all over the court.
The fact that Sinner had already qualified for the semi-finals had no baring on the Italian’s commitment and desire as he was cruising past a limp Rune.
As the set wore on, Rune gradually gained confidence and edged towards a couple of service holds as his semi-finals hopes were hanging on by a thread.
However Sinner held his nerve as he closed out a rather comfortable opening set in 33 minutes.
At the start of the second set, Rune played more consistent and higher quality tennis as he looked to apply pressure on the Italian’s serve.
Sinner responded with authority as he dictated play through his first serve and forehand but the Italian would soon be under pressure as Rune created a break point.
However the world number one held serve with a couple of big serves and created a break point of his own in the following game.
Rune responded to adversity in the same fashion as he squeezed to a service hold in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead.
Following that game both players had to deal with injuries with the Dane receiving a medical time-out on a knee injury while Sinner felt small pain in his back.
That small pain seemed to affect his ability to serve efficiently as Rune was more threatening on return as he increased the intensity and aggressiveness on the backhand.
After surviving a couple of tough service games, Rune pounced when it mattered most as the Dane was aggressive and clinical in the 12th game as a smart lob secured the second set 7-5.
Rune continued the momentum into the third set as he played with confidence but the Dane would have to overcome a period of sustained pressure in the third game.
A 12 minute game that included VAR controversy, the Italian crowd booing but ended in Rune being triumphant as he held for a 2-1 lead.
Both players gave it their all in the third set with Sinner proving to be the more effective player on return with Rune proving clutch in the big moments.
In the eighth game, Rune’s reward for surviving some tight service games was creating break point on return as Sinner was starting to fatigue.
However an untimely backhand unforced error gave Sinner the initiative who held and produced a stunning return game in the following game.
Despite a mini-fightback from Rune, the Dane produced a stunning backhand volley winner to seal the break as he would serve for the win at 5-4.
The Italian survived a tough service game to prevail as he secured his place as Green group winner.
Meanwhile Holger Rune’s season is over after failing to reach the semi-finals.
Now Sinner will focus on his semi-final match which will most likely be against either Carlos Alcaraz or Alexander Zverev.
