Turin [Italy], November 18 : Jannik Sinner made history in the ATP Finals by becoming the first Italian champion in the tournament's 55-year history following his comprehensive victory over Taylor Fritz.
Sinner's memorable year which began with victory at the Australian Open ended on a historic note. The home favourite looked almost flawless in the 6-4, 6-4 triumph over Fritz.
The 23-year-old Italian looked at his best in all dimensions of the game throughout the contest. However, his serve proved to be a lethal weapon, from which he won 83 per cent (33/40) of points , according to Infosys ATP Stats.
With his Tour-leading 70th win of the season, Sinner has joined the iconic duo Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as the only men players to win the Australian Open, US Open and Nitto ATP Finals in the same season. Sinner also became the first player born in the 2000s to lift the trophy at the season finale.
Throughout the finale, Sinner was relentless as he raced to an 85-minute victory. In the opening set, Sinner limited Fritz's options to attack from his favoured wing. He hardly allowed the American to counterattack and reduced him to zero forehand winners.
The driving force was his lethal serve, from which he bagged 10 aces out of the 21 first serves he landed. With a victory in the first set, Sinner continued to exude dominance in the second.
He continued to wear down Fritz and pounced in the fifth game to seal the decisive break. Fritz looked helpless in his attempts to carve out any break points while facing Sinner's serve. The flow of the match continued to be in Sinner's favour as he surged to his 50th hard court win of the season.
"It's amazing, it's my first title in Italy and it means so much to me. 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," Sinner said as quoted from ATP.com.
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