Jannik Sinner defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-1 to become the first Italian man to reach the summit clash at the ATP Finals, in front of his home crowd at Pala Alpitour in Turin on Saturday.
The 22-year-old Sinner, who topped the group stage with three wins in three matches, defeated 2020 champion Medvedev in two hours 29 minutes. After six consecutive losses, it is third victory on the trot for World No. 4 Sinner in his rivalry with World No. 3 Medvedev.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” Sinner said. “It was a really tough match today. I felt that he was playing more aggressively, especially in the first set. Somehow, I made the break and from that point I felt better.”
If Sinner wins the title, he will receive 4.8 million USD as an undefeated champion, the biggest pay day in tennis history.
Medvedev was aiming to reach his 10th final of the season and had the first chance to secure a break of serve at 1-1 in the opening set, but Sinner stood firm.
Sinner secured a decisive break in the next game as some errors flew off the Medvedev racket.
Both players were rock-solid on serve in the second set with only one break point, saved by Sinner, on the way to a tiebreak.
Medvedev, sticking relentlessly to his heavy baseline game, grabbed the initiative and levelled the contest when Sinner sent a forehand over the baseline.
Sinner got his nose in front early in the decider when Medvedev double-faulted and moved to the brink of victory with another break to storm into a 5-1 lead.
Sinner awaits the winner of the second semifinal between World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz.
(With input from Reuters)
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