Defending champion Novak Djokovic and home favourite Jannik Sinner seek to maintain their perfect starts at the Nitto ATP Finals on Tuesday evening. The pair clashes in the evening session at Turin's Pala Alpitour, where both players could seal a semi-final spot with a victory.
[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. [4] Jannik Sinner (ITA)
Hugely popular in Italy and a speaker of the local language, Novak Djokovic is used to channelling plenty of fans’ support in Turin.
That is not likely to be the case on Tuesday night, when the World No. 1 steps out to take on home favourite Jannik Sinner inside the Pala Alpitour. Both players enter their fourth Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting fresh from an opening win in Green Group, and both could seal a semi-final spot with victory.
Sinner will advance if he downs Djokovic in straight sets, or with a three-set triumph combined with Tsitsipas beating Rune earlier in the day. The 22-year-old Italian is searching for his first tour-level win against the six-time Nitto ATP Finals champion Djokovic and will hope to embrace home support, including from his fan club ‘The Carota Boys’, as well as he did in easing past Tsitsipas in his opening match.
"The atmosphere was really, really nice," Sinner said after his opening win. "It's huge pleasure for me to play here in Turin, in Italy. Obviously, a little bit more pressure, but I managed it really well today, so I'm happy."
Sinner’s ability to strike cleanly from anywhere along the baseline was key to his victory against Tsitsipas. He powered 22 winners during his 58th win of the season, and he will look to strike as consistently on Tuesday to put Djokovic’s renowned defence to the test.
That not even be enough to clinch a maiden win against Djokovic, however. The 36-year-old Serbian showcased typical resilience at tough moments to outlast Rune, extend his tour-level winning streak to 19 matches and secure the ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by Pepperstone honour for a record-extending eighth time.
“I was very eager to win tonight’s match, get that monkey off my back,” said Djokovic after his win against the Dane. “I won Paris, which put me in a much better position rankings-wise, and I knew coming into Turin I only needed to win one match. A big goal is achieved, everything else now is a bonus.”
Djokovic, who can only confirm his semi-final spot with a win if Rune defeats Tsitsipas earlier on Tuesday, has never played Sinner indoors. Can he quell the Italian’s momentum inside the Pala Alpitour for his 48th Nitto ATP Finals match win?
[6] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) vs. [8] Holger Rune (DEN)
The 2019 Nitto ATP Finals champion Tsitsipas reiterated his desire to stay in Turin past the group stage after his opening defeat to Jannik Sinner. The Greek will have to do something he has never done before to avoid sliding to 0-2 in Green Group, however: defeat Rune.
The 20-year-old Dane prevailed in both his previous Lexus Head2Head meetings with Tsitsipas, at Roland Garros and in Stockholm in 2022. While both players have struggled to produce their best level consistently across the second half of this year, Tsitsipas is expecting Rune to bring his best to the Pala Alpitour on Tuesday.
“Every single opponent is at their best right now,” said the Greek on Sunday. “I'm not entering the court thinking that I might get a chance or an opportunity or having someone under-play of what their potential is.
“Holger has been pretty good against me in some of the encounters and matches that we've had against each other. I believe that he's a tough competitor and someone that fights really hard on the court. Whether he's up or down, he will not give up.”
Rune will be buoyed by the way he pushed six-time champion Novak Djokovic in his opening match, despite ultimately losing a three-hour, four-minute thriller. The Nitto ATP Finals debutant was aggressive on return in fast conditions throughout his match against the World No. 1 and will hope he can do the same on Tuesday against the big-serving Tsitsipas.
The eighth-seeded Rune will also hope to draw on memories of his previous wins against Tsitsipas as he eyes his maiden Nitto ATP Finals match win.
“I have good memories with him on the court,” Rune told ATP Media at the pre-tournament media day in Turin. “The first time at Roland Garros, the second time in Stockholm. I think he's very hungry now. He's been saying [that] a lot, and you know that he's ready to go out there and compete. So I'm expecting a tough battle from him. He's a great player and he's been tough for many years.”
Tsitsipas holds more experience than Rune at the Nitto ATP Finals, where he is competing for the fifth consecutive year. He has not moved past the group stage since his title run in 2019, however, and arguably appeared less comfortable in his straight-sets defeat to Sinner on Sunday than Rune did against Djokovic.
The round-robin format at the Nitto ATP Finals means progressing to the semi-finals after two defeats is possible, but who can reignite their campaign Monday with a confidence-boosting victory?
Dodig/Krajicek Seek To Build On Fast Start
Top seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek consolidated first place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings with a straight-sets win in their opening match in Green Group. The Croatian-American duo looks to back that victory up on Tuesday evening when they meet fifth seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.
In the afternoon doubles action, Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin take on Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni. Both pairs are chasing their maiden Nitto ATP Finals match win.
[SWEEPSTAKES]