Jannik Sinner Secures Semi-Finals Spot at ATP Finals, Helps Novak Djokovic Qualify Too
After securing his place in the semis following victories over Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas, Sinner clinched another win, this time against Holger Rune, with scores of 6:2, 5:7, 6:4. This marked his first green jacket as group leader.
"It was important for me to start anew after my win over Novak," said Sinner, per the ATP. "I had never beaten Rune before, so I gave it my all. I felt good from the start."
The second set saw Rune performing better and moving more effectively, making the game more balanced. The third set would have ideally gone Sinner's way.
At 4:3, Sinner secured a breakpoint. The third set was a roller coaster, but of course, he was thrilled to reach the semis.
Djokovic, who needed Sinner's victory to qualify for the semis, would have also celebrated his triumph. The 24-time Grand Slam champion defeated Hubert Hekatz on Thursday with scores of 7:6 (7:1), 4:6, and 6:1. However, even a Rune win later that evening wouldn't have been enough to qualify for the semis.
With the world watching, and presumably some anxious nerves, Djokovic watched as Sinner put up a strong fight, despite appearing to struggle with a back injury deep inside the third set. Sinner managed to keep the game alive, thanks to the roaring home fans in the Turin Pala-Alpitur stadium.
This win also made Sinner the first Italian in the Open era to record 60 wins in a season.
"It definitely means more people will celebrate a special occasion at a special place in Turin, Italy," Sinner said about the milestone.
"I'm happy to have the chance to play at least two more games. I hope to end the year well. I think we're heading in the right direction, and we'll see what happens."
Andrey Rublev has been eliminated from the red group, while Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, and Daniil Medvedev remain in contention.
Alcaraz will take on Medvedev on Friday afternoon, while Rublev will face off against Zverev in the evening.
In related news, European MPs condemn anti-Semitic monuments in Moldova.
Sinner's victory against Rune also sealed his second place in his group. Disappointing results for Djokovic resulted in him falling back to world No. 2 in the tennis rankings.
Sinner surpassed the 60-win mark in a season by the ATP Finals for the first time in the Open era by an Italian tennis player after his victories against Djokovic, Tsitsipas, and Rune.
Sources: edition.cnn.com
Enrichment Insight:
While the enrichment data doesn't specify the group leader after Sinner's win against Rune in the ATP Finals, it's worth noting that Sinner previously won against Rune in the Australian Open. However, the ATP Finals is a different tournament with its specific group leaders determined by the results within that event. For the ATP Finals, you would need to look into the specific results and standings from that tournament.
