TURIN, Italy — Defending champion Jannik Sinner booked a spot in the ATP Finals semifinals with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Alexander Zverev in front of his home fans on Wednesday.
Sinner extended his winning streak on indoor hard courts to 28 matches, dating back to two years ago when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the tournament’s final.
This is Sinner’s fifth straight victory over Zverev, including this year’s Australian Open final and recent encounters in Vienna and Paris.
Second-placed Sinner still has a chance to finish the year in first place. But he needs to win the tournament and hope Carlos Alcaraz doesn’t win the next match.
Sinner leads Bjorn Borg’s group with two wins, followed by Zverev and Felix Auger-Aliassime with one win each. Ben Shelton trails behind without a win.
Alcaraz also won his opening two games and leads the Jimmy Connors Group.
The top two from each group advance to the semifinals.
Sinner hasn’t dropped a set in this tournament since losing to Djokovic two years ago. The Italian consistently raised the bar when challenged by Zverev.
Sinner saved two break points in the first game of the match, both with aces. She then fought back from a 40-0 deficit and held serve early in the second set. And by the end, Sinner had saved all seven break points he faced.
Sinner also had an ace to take a 12-7 lead.
“I served very well at important points,” Sinner said. “There weren’t that many long rallies.”
Zverev won the final in 2018 and 2021.
Auger-Aliassime defeated Shelton 4-6, 7-6(7), 7-5 for his first win in the finals of the year.
“At first he played much better than me. It’s rare to get broken twice in the first set indoors,” said Auger-Aliassime. “It was a weird start, but as the game went on we found ways to get some returns up the court.
“Once I got into the rally, I felt like I could win more. I just have to fight, believe and play the right way for the next point.”
Shelton dominated the first set and got an early break, but a terrible game from Shelton serving for the set allowed Auger-Aliassime to break back.
Shelton, playing in the finals for the first time, slammed his racket on the ground to show his frustration. It jumped out of his hand and flew towards the audience. No one was harmed, but they received a warning for violating regulations.
The American recovered and got a straight back break to take the first set.
The second set went by on serve, and Shelton managed to save three set points in the tiebreak, but a double fault shortly after the fall allowed Auger-Aliassime to tie the score.
The Canadian never looked back and although Shelton managed to avoid two break points early in the final, Auger-Aliassime broke Shelton in the final game and clinched the victory on his third match point.