Sinner and Fritz Secure Spots in ATP Finals Semi-finals

World number one Jannik Sinner maintained his flawless performance at the ATP Finals, securing a decisive victory against Russia’s Daniil Medvedev. Sinner is now set to face the second-place finisher from the John Newcombe group in the semi-finals. Competing in his home country in Turin, Sinner triumphed with a score of 6-3, 6-4, thereby finishing first in the Ilie Nastase group with a perfect record of three victories. Sinner’s qualification for the semi-finals had been secured earlier in the day following Taylor Fritz’s 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 win over Alex de Minaur. Sinner subsequently defeated Medvedev, a match where the Russian player needed to overcome Sinner in straight sets to advance past American Fritz. Both Sinner and Fritz are scheduled to learn their semi-final adversaries on Friday, as Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud, and Andrey Rublev remain in contention for qualification. “No preference [on who I play]. Whoever it is going to be on the other side of the net I will try to play the best tennis I can,” Sinner stated to Sky Sports. The top-seeded Sinner has not lost a single set in Turin, aiming for a strong conclusion to a year marked by his first two Grand Slam title victories, alongside involvement in a continuing doping dispute. During his on-court interview, Sinner remarked, “I’m here, I know what I have achieved during this year so I try to step on court with a good mindset.” He added, “I have a good team around me. I have beautiful people around me who support me daily and wish for me.” The reigning Australian and US Open champion conceded only two points on his serve in the initial set, while Medvedev was hampered by 17 unforced errors. Sinner secured a break to establish a 5-3 advantage, then served to win the first set, maintaining his impetus into the second set by breaking serve once more. Medvedev managed to equalize the score at 3-3, but additional unforced errors ultimately cost the fourth seed, allowing Sinner to capitalize and break serve at 4-4, to the clear satisfaction of the home crowd. The Italian, who has claimed seven ATP Tour titles in 2024, calmly served to conclude the match, marking his 68th victory in 74 matches. Sinner further commented, “I’m here trying to find new ways to improve as a player. I’m here trying to win as many as matches as I can.” Earlier on Thursday, Australia’s Alex de Minaur required a straight-sets victory over fifth seed Taylor Fritz to have any prospect of advancing to the semi-finals in Turin. Taylor Fritz had previously been defeated by Jannik Sinner in the US Open final in September. Nevertheless, his aspirations were dashed when Fritz unexpectedly secured the second set. The US Open finalist then had to await the confirmation of his place in the final four, which was secured once Medvedev lost the initial set to Sinner. Following his victory, Fritz stated, “All of us are pretty beat up but if I’m in the semi-finals of the world tour finals then I’ve got energy to give.” Seventh seed De Minaur, despite struggling with his initial service games, achieved the first break of serve, concluding an excellent rally with a skillful cross-court winner to take a 4-3 lead. Fritz promptly retaliated, drawing level in the subsequent game, but De Minaur broke once more and served to win the opening set, while his adversary grew visibly frustrated, voicing complaints to the umpire regarding flash photography within the venue. The US Open runner-up (Fritz) was compelled to save two break points during the second set, whereas De Minaur appeared assured on his serve, achieving three love holds. This changed when Fritz elevated his intensity and capitalized on an opportunity at 5-4, effectively concluding De Minaur’s season. With his tournament prospects diminished, De Minaur’s performance continued to decline as Fritz gained momentum, ultimately sealing the win with an ace after a match lasting two hours and eight minutes. Fritz commented, “He was all over me. What I did a great job of was towards the end of the second set I started to find my serve, I started serving much better.” He continued, “It just gave me a little bit of comfort to stay in the match and not be under so much pressure. It was still incredibly tough.” Concurrently, Britain’s Henry Patten and his Finnish partner Harri Heliovaara achieved a perfect record of three wins from three matches in the doubles group stage. The duo, who secured the Wimbledon title together in July, recovered from a deficit to defeat 2020 champions Nikola Mektic and Wesley Koolhof, with scores of 4-6, 6-3, 12-10. This match marked Koolhof’s final ATP Tour appearance. Patten and Heliovaara had already guaranteed their spot in the semi-finals and are scheduled to discover their opponents for the final four on Friday.