Home Hope Sinner Sinks Rune, Tops Group In Turin

Jannik Sinner’s Nitto ATP Finals charge has taken him all the way to the top of Green Group in Turin.

The home favourite wrapped a round-robin stage at the prestigious season finale on Thursday by downing Holger Rune 6-2, 5-7, 6-4. In doing so, he also ensured that six-time champion and World No. 1 progressed to the semi-finals alongside him.

Sinner backed up his opening wins against Stefanos Tsitsipas and Djokovic with a courageous third performance of the week inside the Pala Alpitour, converting two of four break points he earned to register a two-hour, 33-minute triumph in a match that swung back and forth.

Sinner looked the more comfortable player for the first set and a half of the match but his movement appeared compromised by an apparent back concern from midway through the second set. Digging deep, the Italian took the match deep into the deciding set and rode the raucous support from the stands to clinch his first win against Rune in three Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings between the two.

Now 60-14 for the 2023 season, Sinner is two matches away from winning five tour-level tournaments in a single year for the first time. The 22-year-old, who became champion in Montpellier, Beijing, Toronto and Vienna this season, is the first Italian to advance to the singles semi-finals in the 54-year history of the Nitto ATP Finals.

More to follow…