Yannick Siner He plays tennis with his competitors. This is how he qualified for the final of the Masters Eight tournament: he trained in the first set, let his opponent dream, and attacked him at the right moment without concessions. Felix flattered … Auger-Aliassime on the first day (7-5, 6-1); Alexander Zverev came in second place (6-4, 6-3), and Ben Shelton responded, without anything at stake (6-3, 7-6 (3); but in the semi-finals, against… Alex de MinaurOnce again the two-faced sinner: jovial and bully. 7-5 and 6-2 in an hour and 52 minutes. It is the Italian’s 30th consecutive victory on this fast indoor court, where he has not lost since that final against Djokovic in 2023. He also reached the final day in 2024 and now in 2025, and is the youngest person to achieve this hat-trick, and the seventh in the list: Ivan Lendl (9), Roger Federer (5 and 3), Novak Djokovic (5), Iliya Nastase (4), John McEnroe. (3) and Boris Becker (3). As if that wasn’t enough, 18 straight sets and 39 unopposed service cycles. As if that wasn’t enough: he is the youngest person to reach a Grand Slam and Masters final at the same tournament; Only Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have achieved it. Data. Sensations. sin.
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The match starts as everyone expects at Inalpi Arena, with three balls in favor of Sinner. But De Minaur refuses to leave the match and the semi-final so quickly, because tennis already knows how to deal with the Italian when he opens a small wound. The Australian suddenly picks up on the dynamic changes in a surprising way, or not so much, because it is Sinner who has to overcome the 0-40.
There is some additional suffering on his serve, and since he prefers not to exaggerate his efforts, he does not find the tickle of the Australian who sticks to the court with everything he has and does not seem to have in this group stage, and who takes advantage of the opponent’s mistakes. The meeting passes slowly, without much flourishing on anyone’s part; The first is because it does not give him more level than he does, and the other is because it does not give him the afternoon to shoot like at other times, because he is playing with his rival and not just tennis.
Sinner has had this plan all week: mature the play, without putting pressure on himself, making his opponent dizzy when his shots aren’t quite clean; Who knows that the black cloud will pass and also knows that Di Minaur’s resistance will run out. Especially if the group continues to be balanced. At the limit, the experience and tense nerves of one, compared to the toughness of the other, have not yet arrived. The Italian cuts a break, a second, a third, which he converts because he’s already got his fangs out and doesn’t stop until he gets them into the Australian’s unstable mentality. “Break” in eight minutes of play for 6-5 and serve. Any break of the set because Sinner has already transformed: two aces, a forehand cross, a mistake from De Minaur and 7-5. With only eleven errors.
That is, the “break” to win the match. Because Sinner follows the same scenario: mature the opponent, let him dream, sink his teeth into him after an even first set, continue for an hour of play, then run over him in the second without discussion, and break the first game of the second set.
They led 4-0 in one second, and despite the slowness of the first set, it accelerated in the second. Above all, Sinner’s arm: whip from side to side, forehand and backhand, reviving a small hope for the Australian. Nothing to do. This sinner wants, at the very least, to retain the Master class, once he loses the number 1.
He has everything ready for the match everyone wants to see in the final. It was his 30th straight indoor hard court win, 39 unopposed service matches, and his third straight ATP Finals final in which he remains, at least so far, the best.
He added: “It was a difficult match, very difficult, especially in the beginning. But I knew how to move forward, and that gave me confidence in the second set. Sinner commented after the match, saying: “And also for tomorrow’s match, which is very important.” He added, “I served very well, especially in the important moments in the first set. I struggled with my serve and couldn’t return it well. But in the second I raised my level. It was a difficult day for me, but in a great atmosphere, so I’m very happy to reach another final. Ending my season here in Turin with a final is very special.”
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