World number 1 Jannik Sinner beat Taylor Fritz 6-4 6-4 in 1 hour and 40 minutes to move to 2-0 in the Ilie Nastase Group at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin to the delight of 12000 enthusiastic fans who packed the sold-out Inalpi Arena.
Sinner never dropped his serve and earned a break in the final game of each set.
Sinner has extended his lead to 3-1 in his head-to-head matches against Fritz. Last September the Italian player beat his US rival in straight sets in the US Open to win his second Grand Slam title. The two-time Grand Slam champion has improved to 7-0 on indoor hard-courts this season.
Sinner saved a break point in the seventh game at deuce with a backhand winner down the line to take a 4-3 lead. Fritz went down 0-40 in the eighth game but he won five consecutive points to hold his service game for 4-4. The US player faced two break points at 15-40 as he was serving to stay in the set in the 10th game. Sinner converted his first opportunity to close out the first 6-4 after 50 minutes.
Both players went on serve in the first five games of the second set without facing any break points. Fritz saved a break point at 30-40 in the sixth game. Sinner struck a backhand winner en route to holding serve from 0-30 down.
Fritz went up a 30-0 lead as he was serving to stay in the match, but Sinner won four consecutive points to break serve on his first match point.
Sinner hit 22 winners to 18 unforced errors and won 59% of his second serves.
Sinner will be looking to extend his 2-0 record when he takes on Danil Medvedev.
Sinner levelled Alexander Zverev with his tour-leading 67thwin of the 2024 season.
Sinner has won 23 of his last 24 matches and improved his record to 67-6 this year. The Italian player is bidding to become the first player to win an ATP Finals title on home soil since Andy Murray in 2016. “It was a tough match, we got to know each other very well in a Grand Slam final. We knew exactly what to expect today. He was very aggressive and I was prepared. I just tried to serve very well in the important moments, which I did. That was a very crucial game in the second set. I was down 0-30. If he breaks me 0-30, the momentum could change”, said Sinner.
