Unstoppable once again today, Yannick Sinner defeated Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 and became the champion at the ATP Finals.
Sinner, who has now won 10 out of the 12 matches he has played in his ATP Finals career, claimed his 8th title in a sensational season during which he also won the Australian Open, the US Open, and Masters titles in Miami, Cincinnati, and Shanghai.
This was the icing on the cake for the 23-year-old Italian’s incredible year, as he will finish the season ranked No.1 in the world, with nearly 4,000 points ahead of second-place Alexander Zverev! This also marked his 70th win of the year (70-6), and the year is still not over, as he also has the Davis Cup finals to look forward to.
Sinner also became the first player in 38 years to win the ATP Finals without losing a single set. The last player to do so was Ivan Lendl in 1986, with neither Novak Djokovic nor Roger Federer, the two most successful players in the tournament’s history, having accomplished this feat.
In the final, Sinner broke Fritz’s serve once in each set. He was never in real danger and was only threatened on his serve once, when he served for the first set at 5-4. He saved the break point and closed the set in the 10th game. The Italian broke Fritz’s serve again in the 5th game of the 2nd set, and from that point on, he never looked back, sealing the win in 1 hour and 24 minutes.
This was Sinner’s 4th win in 5 encounters with Fritz (4-1), having won 3 times in the last 2 months without dropping a set. He defeated him in the US Open final 2 months ago and twice this week in Turin.
This was Sinner’s 18th career title, with an impressive 18-5 record in finals on tour.
Fritz also had an excellent year, as after his first Grand Slam final, he reached his first ATP Finals final, where he won every match except against Sinner. The 26-year-old American will finish the year ranked No.4 in the world, marking his first time in the top 4.