(Turin) World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will attempt to win the ATP Finals for the seventh time when he faces crowd favorite Jannik Sinner in the final of the prestigious season-ending tournament on Sunday in Turin, Italy.
By winning in the final, Djokovic will set a record for the most titles at this tournament. He and Roger Federer are tied with six triumphs.
The Serb defeated Carlos Alcaraz in less than 90 minutes in the semifinals on Saturday, winning 6-3, 6-2 in a duel between the two highest-ranked players in the world.
PHOTO ANTONIO CALANNI, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Novak Djokovic
Earlier in the day, Sinner won his duel against Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-1. Sinner is the first Italian to reach the final of this tournament.
Sinner beat Djokovic, for the first time in his career, earlier this week in the group stage. The Serb will also have to negotiate with a passionate and partisan crowd, once again.
“He’s playing incredible tennis, probably his best ever,” Djokovic said. We played a very close match the other day. The atmosphere was extraordinary. I expect nothing less for the final, with the crowd probably even louder.
“It’s the final. I’ve been in this situation many times before. I am very satisfied with the sensations I feel and the way I play. I hope I can give my best game tomorrow. »
Djokovic received plenty of encouragement from spectators in Turin on Saturday, with many chanting his name between points.
Alcaraz and Djokovic had faced each other four times this season before Saturday’s match, each winning twice. The Serb won the most recent match, in the final in Cincinnati in August. Alcaraz defeated Djokovic in the final at Wimbledon to win his second major tournament.
“I approached the match with the right attitude, the right mentality, and I knew from the first point that it would be very intense,” Djokovic said. He got break points in the first game, at 15-40. »
Djokovic had won his last 15 matches after winning the first set. The trend did not seem ready to change when he quickly broke Alcaraz’s serve in the second set.
In the sixth game of the second set, Alcaraz had his chance to bring the duel back to even service, but Djokovic saved two break points.
If the Spaniard did not take advantage of his opportunity, Djokovic did not let his chance slip away and broke his opponent’s serve in the next game, to then conclude everything in his service.
Sinner has won all four of her matches so far in the tournament, including the match against her Sunday opponent in the final.
The Italian has received a lot of support from the fans present in Turin since the start of the tournament.
“It’s a privilege to have that kind of pressure,” Sinner said. The crowd gave me so much energy.
“It was a very difficult match. He started better than me, but somehow I managed to break his serve and that helped me. »
Sinner is ranked fourth in the world, the best ranking for an Italian since Adriano Panatta, almost half a century ago.
His victory against Medvedev also made him the Italian with the most matches won against members of the top-5 (10), surpassing Panatta’s record.
Before last month, Medvedev had won all six duels between the two athletes. Sinner scored his first victories against Medvedev in the finals of the China and Vienna tournaments.