World No. 1 Jannik Sinner ended a spectacular season in style on Sunday, winning his career-first Nitto ATP Finals in his native Italy.
Sinner needed just 85 minutes to defeat Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 for his 70th match win and eighth tournament victory of the season.
In the process, Sinner made some history. He became the first Italian to win the tournament in its 55 years of existence and also the first player born in the 2000s to win the title.
Sinner, 23, also became the first player to run through the ATP Finals without losing a set since Ivan Lendl did it in 1986.
“It’s amazing, it’s my first title in Italy and it means so much to me,” Sinner said. “It’s something very special. I just tried to understand what works best for each opponent, trying to play my best possible tennis. That was the key.
“It was a very high level tournament from my side. At times, I couldn’t have played better, so I am very happy.”
He defeated Fritz and Daniil Medvedev of Russia in straight sets in group play, then eliminated Norway’s Casper Ruud in the semifinals before the rematch with Fritz.
Before their contest in Turin, Fritz and Sinner most recently played in the final of the U.S. Open, where the Italian prevailed in three sets. Sinner now is 4-1 against Fritz.
Sinner also won the Australian Open this year. He joins Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as the only players to win Grand Slams in Australia and New York and the ATP Finals in the same season.
Fritz, who will hit a career-high No. 4 in the ATP rankings on Monday, would have become the first American to win the event since Pete Sampras in 1999.
Sinner won points on 83 percent (33 of 40) of his first serves and hit 28 winners against nine unforced errors. That included 14 aces.
–Field Level Media
