Sinner defeats de Minaur and qualifies for the ATP Finals in Turin on the 10th of the year

Italian Jannik Sinner, second in the world rankings, defeated Australian Alex de Minaur, seventh in the ATP rankings, in the semi-finals of the ATP Finals tournament, on Saturday morning, in Turin. The match was intense, especially in the first stage, but then Sinner came out and the score was 2 sets to 0 (7/5 and 6/2), in an hour and 52 minutes. The current champion of the tournament, Sinner continues without losing any sets, nor is his serve broken in the competition. Athin awaits his opponent in the decision, which will be played on Sunday. This will be the last game of their season.

The Italian has won all 13 meetings against the Australian, including four matches this season, at the Australian Open, in Beijing, Vienna and now in Turin. The Australian won only two sets in these duels.

This is Sinner’s 30th straight victory on hard and indoor courts, which now stands as the fifth-longest unbeaten streak in the Open Era in these conditions. The record is held by John McEnroe with 47 goals between 1978 and 1987, followed by Novak Djokovic with 35, Roger Federer with 33, and Ivan Lendl with 32. The Italian’s unbeaten Davis Cup career began in 2023.

The second semi-final match will be held on Saturday, at approximately 4:30 pm, between Carlos Alcaraz, the top ranking of the Professional Tennis Players Association, and Canadian Felix Aliassime, ranked 8th in the world. In Brazil, the broadcast will be carried out via ESPN and Disney+, exclusively for premium subscribers.

It will be the eighth meeting between them, as the Canadian won the first three between 2021 and 2022, while the Spaniard won the last four between 2023 and last year.

Sinner has only five wins in 15 matches against Alcaraz and leads the record against Aliassime 4-2.

This morning’s match, between Sinner and De Minaur, saw a very competitive first set, with plenty of ball exchanges and speed. So much so that the Italian fans remained confined for about an hour. It was only really exciting in the first service game, when local tennis player Sinner made it 6-5 after eight break points. Sinner then served and finished the last game calmly (40 to 15), opening 7 to 5 in the first half at 1:06.

Sinner kept the match fast and aggressive in the second set - Photograph: Marco Bertorello/AFP — Sinner kept the match fast and aggressive in the second set – Photograph: Marco Bertorello/AFP

In the second set, Sinner quickly broke the Australian’s serve and took a 2-0 lead. He looked for a bigger difference and overturned the score from 15 to 40 in the match and was able to break his serve again to reach 3-0. At that point, the mood of the crowd was already different, more celebratory. Sinner maintained his pace, maintained his high level, and advanced strongly throughout the set. De Minaur was able to confirm the serve (4-1, 5-2), avoiding frames in the set. But Sinner, with a first serve success rate of 75%, finished the match two sets to 0, with 6/2, in this second phase.

Sinner will compete in his 10th final of the season, having won titles at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, Beijing, Vienna and Paris Masters 1000, in addition to placing second at Rome, Roland Garros, Cincinnati and the US Open. Winner of 23 ATP tournaments, the 24-year-old reaches the 33rd final of his career.