Jannik Sinner sealed his place in the final of the Nitto ATP Finals after a three-set win over Daniil Medvedev, defeating the world No. 3 in a deciding set, 6-3 6-7(4) 6-1, in Turin.
Sinner was the only unbeaten man going into the last four of the tournament, and after a mid-match hiccup, continued his purple patch of form to record his third straight win over US Open finalist Medvedev, and book his place in the final, where he will face either Carlos Alcaraz or Novak Djokovic, the latter who the Italian has already beaten in the round robin stage.
Speaking post-match, Sinner said: “Incredible feelings. It was a really tough match today.
“I felt like he was playing more aggressively, especially in the first set, and somehow I made the break and then from that point, I felt a bit better.
“The second set was really tight, and he played a very good tie-break. In the third, I just tried to stay aggressive, mixing up the game a bit. I’m obviously very happy to be in the final.
“It’s a privilege to have this kind of [home] pressure. Already the week before this event, I felt good on this court; it’s quite fast, and obviously the crowd has given me so much energy and it’s a pleasure to play in front of the home fans in Italy. It’s all going in a good way, and I’m really happy.”
There was impressive play from the baseline in the opening exchanges, with a hold of serve each. However, it did not take long for the first break point to arrive after Sinner hit a backhand into the net, but the Italian made amends with an emphatic strike off the same wing to wipe it out.
Sinner says pressure of playing in front of home crowd ‘a privilege’ after reaching final
A delightful drop shot in the next game kept the momentum in Sinner’s corner, as a long forehand return from Medvedev secured a hard-earned hold for 2-1.
Medvedev then surrendered a 40-0 lead on his own delivery, as a series of double faults allowed Sinner to take the unlikeliest of breaks.
The remaining five games were all successfully held, as Sinner wrapped up the first set with a stunning serve to draw first blood in 45 minutes.
Sinner was showing ominous form, given he had not lost any of his previous seven matches against a top-five opponent when winning the first set.
The last time that happened came against Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon last year, leaving Medvedev with a daunting task ahead.
The Italian continued to look impressive on serve and sealed the fourth game with an ace to level the scores at 2-2, in a keenly-contested start to the second set.
The action continued with both players looking supremely confident on serve, as Medvedev claimed a hold to 15 with a sublime ace, and Sinner followed with an emphatic hold to love.
A first break point in set two came in the seventh game as Sinner netted a return, but the Italian cancelled that out with an overhead smash and would go on to restore parity.
Sinner let a 0-30 lead slip, as the power from Medvedev’s serve secured another hold before the home favourite responded yet again to keep this set on a knife-edge at 5-5.
A wild return from Sinner moved the Russian 6-5 in front and left the Italian serving to keep the set alive. He was to hold, but Medvedev did not miss a single first serve in the tie-break, and restored parity in the match, taking the breaker 7-4.
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The decisive third set began with a brilliant drop-shot and a fierce cross-court forehand, in a morale-boosting hold for Sinner.
Medvedev was showing his frustration after throwing his racket, as Sinner broke through his serve and would use his home crowd’s backing to race into a 3-0 lead.
At 1-4 down, the Russian used his athleticism and reflexes to deter Sinner’s powerful groundstrokes, frustrating the world No. 4, who had started to let unforced errors creep into his game at the crucial moment.
But finally, Medvedev’s resilience was broken. A tired forehand shanked long was met by a roar from the raucous Turin crowd, who chanted and sang their home hero’s name as he prepared to serve out the match at 5-1 ahead.
A blistering backhand down the line from the Italian at 30-0 ahead brought up three match points, but he only needed one of them; a Medvedev backhand flying long as Sinner continued his mesmerising form on his home turf, reaching the final of the season’s curtain-closer.
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