TURIN, Italy — World number one Jannik Sinner became the first Italian to secure the ATP Finals title in Turin, defeating American Taylor Fritz 6-4 6-4. Sinner’s victory marks a high point in his remarkable year, winning 26 of his last 27 matches and earning substantial prize money.
Sinner, who lost last year’s final to Novak Djokovic, did not put a foot wrong this time round as he finished undefeated and without dropping a set to earn $4,881,500 in prize money.
In a rematch of this year’s US Open final, the 23-year-old Sinner broke Fritz’s serve with a fine drop shot to take a 4-3 lead before notching the opener with his 10th ace in the match.
Fritz, the first American to reach the final since James Blake in 2006, also dropped serve in the second set by hitting a forehand long which allowed the Italian to seal the contest in 85 minutes.
“It’s amazing. Just an amazing week. For me, it’s a first title in Italy, so it means so much to me. I’m very happy about that, it’s very special,” Sinner, who also beat Fritz in the group stage in Turin, said on court according to Reuters.
“I just try to understand what works best for each opponent; try to play the best tennis possible. That was the key; I played a high-level tournament from my side. At times I couldn’t play better, so I’m very happy.”
With his 70th win of the season, Sinner also became the first player to win the ATP Finals without dropping a set since Ivan Lendl in 1986.
“I just want to say congrats to Jannik and his team. Insane year, honestly. It’s really impressive,” the 27-year-old Fritz said.
“Thank you to my team and putting up with me. It’s been a great week for me. I felt the love all week long.”
Sinner´s explanation was that the banned performance-enhancer entered his system unintentionally through a massage from his physiotherapist, who had used a spray containing the steroid to treat his own cut finger.
By sweeping all five of his matches en route to the trophy, Sinner earned $4.8 million – the largest winner´s prize on the men´s tour.
The crowd broke into its customary chant of “Ole, Ole, Ole; Sin-ner, Sin-ner” when Sinner produced a drop-shot winner to break for a 4-3 lead in the first set.
Sinner faced a break point while serving for the first set but saved it with a big serve out wide that Fritz couldn´t return. Then he served an ace – his 10th of the set – to close it out.
Another break by Sinner early in the second and the match was virtually over.
Sinner extended his winning streak to 11 matches. He´s won 26 of his last 27 matches and ends the ATP season with eight titles and an overall record of 70-6.
Fritz was attempting to become the event´s first American champion since Pete Sampras beat Andre Agassi in the title match 25 years ago.
Still, Fritz will rise to a career-high No. 4 in the rankings after beating No. 2 Alexander Zverev in a third-set tiebreaker in the semi-finals Saturday. That will make him the highest-ranked American man since Andy Roddick was No. 4 in August 2007.
It´s the latest in a series of achievements for Fritz, whose run in New York made him the first American man to reach a Grand Slam singles final since Roddick lost to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009.
At the start of the week, Fritz told The Associated Press that his “career has always been a very steady progression and just improving a little bit each year.”
Both Sinner and Fritz will conclude their seasons representing defending champion Italy and the United States, respectively, in the Davis Cup finals, which start Tuesday in Malaga, Spain.
Earlier, Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz lifted the doubles title after edging Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic 7-6(5) 7-6(6) to become the first German pair to win the tournament.
