Sinner sets up Fritz title decider at ATP Finals

World number one Jannik Sinner will face Taylor Fritz in the ATP Finals title match as he bids to become the first Italian to win the season-ending tournament.

Sinner booked his place in Sunday’s final with a clinical 6-1 6-2 win over Norway’s Casper Ruud in Turin.

That came after a resolute Fritz defeated Alexander Zverev 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-3) – his fourth victory over the German second seed this year alone.

He is the first American to reach the final since 2006, when James Blake lost to Roger Federer, while Pete Sampras was the last player from the nation to win the title in 1999.

“I’m very happy with today’s performance, I’m very happy to be in the final,” said Italian Sinner, who lost in last year’s final to Novak Djokovic.

“I’ll just try to play the best I can tomorrow, anything can happen.

“I feel like I have more experience, I’ve grown as a player and hopefully tomorrow is going to be a good day.”

Top seed Sinner has yet to drop a set in Turin as he seeks an impressive end to a year in which he has won his first two Grand Slam titles, but also been embroiled in an ongoing doping controversy.

The 23-year-old controlled proceedings from the very first point against Ruud, who has never taken a set off the Australian Open and US Open champion in three meetings.

Sinner broke at the first opportunity, with a powerful forehand that the Norwegian could not return, on his way to a 3-0 lead with just three points lost.

Ruud, the 2022 runner-up, slowed the pace with a love hold, but was made to rue two unconverted break points of his own when Sinner broke again before serving out the set with little challenge.

Such was the Italian’s dominance, Ruud’s points tally at the end of the opener stood at a lowly 12.

It didn’t get much easier for him in the second set as Sinner broke for a 3-2 lead, before a forehand cross-court winner put him a double break up on Ruud’s next service game.

He saw out the match without dropping another point, his place in the championship match sealed with his ninth ace of the day.

Fritz ends Zverev’s perfect run

French Open finalist Zverev, on an eight-match winning streak after winning the Paris Masters title earlier in November, had cruised through to the semi-finals in Turin and not had his serve broken across all three of his group matches.

But that was to change against an inspired Fritz. Though he saved his first break-point opportunity, Zverev could only bat a blistering forehand into the net on his second as the American took a 4-2 lead.

Flustered, the German took only a single point off Fritz’s serve for the remainder of the opening set.

After a Zverev hold to love in the first game of the second, drama ensued on Fritz’s serve when the chair umpire ruled the ball had bounced twice before a swooping Zverev made contact.

The 27-year-old requested a review which, after a lengthy wait greeted by jeers and whistles from the crowd, proved he had reached the ball in time and the point was replayed.

Two games later, Zverev secured the break that would decide the second set as a powerful forehand, while on the back foot, proved too much for Fritz to dink back over the net.

In the deciding set, just three points were dropped on serve across the opening four games before Fritz survived triple break point.

Zverev later weathered a nervy game himself, saving three break points, before failing to convert two of his own at 5-5 after Fritz had let slip a 40-15 lead.

A hold to love from the German forced the tie-break, but it was Fritz who took control from there, taking a point off Zverev at the first opportunity before a stunning cross-court forehand at match point ensured his Tour season would last one more day.

Looking forward to the final, Fritz – who lost to Sinner in the US Open final in September – said: “I trust my game and I trust my level.

“I don’t feel anywhere near as uncomfortable in these situations anymore because I’ve been putting myself in these situations against the top guys at big events a lot lately. I’m really confident in my game.”

Meanwhile, Britain’s Henry Patten and his Finnish partner Harri Heliovaara were knocked out of the doubles in a tight 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-4) semi-final defeat by the top seeds, Croatia’s Mate Pavic and El Salvador’s Marcelo Arevalo.