Sinner advances to ATP Finals semis: Defeats Zverev and remains undefeated

Jannik Sinner Secures His Spot in the ATP Finals Semifinals

The defending champion, Jannik Sinner, secured his place in the ATP Finals semi-finals with a resounding victory over Alexander Zverev, in front of the home crowd in Turin. Sinner extended his winning streak on indoor hard courts to 28 matches, an impressive feat dating back to his loss to Novak Djokovic in the final of this very tournament two years ago. This is Sinner’s fifth consecutive victory over Zverev, including this year’s Australian Open final and recent matches in Vienna and Paris. The Italian tennis player, currently number two in the world, still has a chance to finish the year at the top of the ranking. To achieve this, he needs to win the tournament and hope that Carlos Alcaraz does not advance further. Sinner leads the Bjorn Borg group with two victories, while Zverev and Felix Auger-Aliassime each have one victory. Ben Shelton has not yet achieved any victories. Alcaraz has also won his first two matches and leads the Jimmy Connors group. The top two teams from each group advance to the semifinals.

Jannik Sinner extended his winning streak on indoor hard courts to 28 matches, going back to his defeat against Novak Djokovic in the ATP Finals final two years ago. Sinner hasn’t lost a set in this tournament since he was defeated by Djokovic two years ago. Against Zverev, the Italian consistently raised his level of play. Sinner saved two break points in the first game of the match, both with aces. Then, he came back from 0-40 to hold his serve at the start of the second set and, in the end, saved all seven break points he faced. Furthermore, Sinner led in aces with a score of 12-7.

I served very well on the important points. There weren’t many long rallies.

Jannik Sinner

Zverev won the tournament in 2018 and 2021. Auger-Aliassime secured his first victory in this year’s finals after coming back and defeating Shelton with a score of 4-6, 7-6 (7), 7-5.

He was playing much better than me at the beginning. It’s not common for me to get broken twice in the first set indoors. It was a strange start, but as the match went on, I found ways to put returns in the court. Once we got involved in the rallies, I felt I could win more. You just have to fight, believe, and play the next point the right way.

Felix Auger-Aliassime

Shelton dominated the first set and achieved an early break, but a terrible game from him, when serving for the set, allowed Auger-Aliassime to recover the break. Shelton, who was playing in the finals for the first time, showed his frustration by hitting his racket against the ground. It flew out of his hand towards the spectators. No one was injured, but he received a warning for violating the code. The American recovered to break immediately and take the first set.

The second set was held with serve and Shelton managed to save three set points in the tiebreak, but a double fault, shortly after suffering a fall, allowed Auger-Aliassime to tie.

The Canadian never looked back and, although Shelton managed to defend two break points at the beginning of the decisive set, Auger-Aliassime broke him in the final game, sealing the victory on his third match point.