Sinner vs Fritz: new champion will be revealed at the Nitto ATP Finals | ATP Tour

Nitto ATP Final

A new champion will be crowned at the Nitto ATP Finals

On Sunday from 18:00 local time the champion will be determined in Turin.

November 16, 2024

The US Open final will now become the final of the Nitto ATP Finals 2024. Two months ago, Italian Jannik Sinner won, and now Taylor Fritz will try to take revenge. The truth is that, like the last tournament at Flushing Meadows, this year’s end-of-season tournament will feature an unprecedented champion.

Twelve months ago, the Italian became the first player from his country to reach the Nitto ATP Finals, leaving him one win away from becoming the third man this century to win the event as a local (following Lleyton Hewitt in 2001 and Andy Murray in 2016). However, Novak Djokovic stood in his way, defeating him on the final day.

Twelve months later, Sinner returned to the same stage. With a 4-0 record this week, he has qualified for the final against a player he beat in straight sets a few days ago and wants to avoid a repeat of 2023, when he fell in a championship match to one of his victims in the group stage.

“The situation is very similar to last year. I’ll just try to play my best,” Sinner said after beating Casper Ruud 6-1, 6-2 in the semi-finals. “From last year until now, I feel like I have more experience and have grown as a player. Player, I hope it’s a good day after a very positive week and year.”

It doesn’t promise to be as easy as many think, perhaps due to Sinner leading his Lexus ATP HeadToHead 3-1 with Fritz. The main reason is that the American defeated Alexander Zverev, who until Saturday had won every set and every service he had played during the week.

The triumph made Fritz his country’s first finals at the tournament since James Blake in 2006 and ensured he was ranked No. 4 in the world from Monday, the highest of his career in the PIF ATP Rankings. Even if he wins the title, which will be the ninth and most important of his career, he will remain in this position.

“At the US Open, I felt like I was trying to stay in shape with my serve, stay alive, win points with big shots or take advantage of his mistakes. Those were unique and consistent ways to score points,” Fritz said, reflecting on what he needed to do differently to win on Sunday.

“In the game we played here… I felt much more comfortable on the back line. I had my chances in this game. I had opportunities to break serve in both sets. He had just as many opportunities and took advantage of them. “In the group stage match, he played the important moments better than me.”

If he gets his revenge, he will achieve the biggest win of his career and leave his record against players at the top of the PIF ATP Rankings at 1-10.

If it is Sinner who strengthens his favoritism by ranking and by moments, he will reach 18 titles in his career and conquer another category that has been elusive until now, since he has already proven himself at the level of Grand Slams, Masters 1000, ATP 500 Finals, ATP 250 and Next Gen ATP presented by PIF.

In addition, he will reach 260 wins in his ATP Tour career and 70 wins in 2024 to become the player with the most wins in a season.