World number one Jannik Sinner launched his campaign at the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals with a commanding straight-set victory over debutant Alex de Minaur at the Inalpi Arena on Sunday night in Turin, Italy.
Top seed and home hero Jannik Sinner surged past Nitto ATP Finals debutant Alex de Minaur with a straightforward 6-3, 6-4 win after 85 minutes, wrapping up Ilie Nastase Group singles round-robin action at the Inalpi Arena on Sunday night in Turin.
Competing at tour level for the first time since defeating 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic at the Shanghai Masters last October, the Italian player showed little signs of rust in front of his home crowd.
During his on-court interview, he assessed his performance, outlining: “I started with some unforced errors; he was playing great at the beginning of the match, so I just tried to stay there mentally, knowing that hopefully, at some point, my tennis would arrive. It arrived quite early, and I started to return very well.”
The 2023 finalist, who will end the season as No. 1 in the rankings for the first time, made a fast start against the talented world No. 8, breaking twice before pocketing the first set 6-3 in 36 minutes.
Solid from the baseline, he displayed a high-level performance on the return game, winning 33 percent of the return points on his first serve and 78 on his second delivery.
The 23-year-old set off the second set painting the lines with finesse.
In addition, his superb all-court coverage neutralized the Australian recovery efforts, which would eventually take a toll on the player’s confidence.
Sinner made it through the fourth game without losing a single point behind his delivery.
Then, he found an edge to force the lone break of the set in the fifth game with his backhand forcing shot, earning a 3-2 lead.
Meanwhile, the 25-year-old from Sydney misfired often with his forehand as he continued to strive to find his best tennis.
Ultimately, the San Candido native took the set 6-4 in 48 minutes, notching his first match win at the 2024 edition of the ATP Finals, his win No. 66 of the season.
The US Open champion hit 19 winners against 20 unforced errors, compared to the seventh-seed 7 to 21, respectively.
Moreover, the 17-time ATP titlist converted 3 of 7 break points, winning 81 percent of the points on his first serve.
The second group stage contest will see Sinner squaring off against fifth seed Taylor Fritz, a rematch of their US Open final last September.
Addressing his upcoming challenge against the American player, he remarked: “My serve, I have to improve if I want to [win] the next match. Against Taylor, for example, today he played really well.
“Let’s see, but today, I’m very pleased about the win, and hopefully, this can give me confidence for the next one.”
Fritz made a perfect start to his run on Italian soil, taking down a frustrated Daniil Medvedev with a rock-solid 6-4, 6-3 victory in 80 minutes to set off singles action on Sunday.
After securing the triumph over the former ATP Finals champion, he asserted: “My first time [at the Nitto ATP Finals], I was the alternate. No one expected much of me here. I was playing with house money, no pressure.
“This time, I am fifth. I really want to make it out of the group stage. I’m putting more expectations on myself to do better; I’m just a better player, and I’m super happy with how I played today.”
On Tuesday, Medvedev will meet De Minaur, who is already looking forward to his next matches.
The 9-time ATP winner stressed: “I always rate my chances [of progressing out of the group]. I think the way I see it is that Jannik was the only player in the group who I hadn’t had a win against. The rest of the players I’ve had some success against. Now, I’m not playing the No. 1 in the world anymore. I’ll be looking forward to that.”
