Jannik Sinner Dominates Alex de Minaur in ATP Finals Opener

Jannik Sinner opened his ATP Finals campaign with a dominant 6-3, 6-4 win over Alex de Minaur, continuing his perfect record against the Australian and thrilling his home crowd in Turin, Italy. Sinner, who finished as runner-up to Novak Djokovic last year has had an exceptional 2024 season, capturing his first two Grand Slam titles at the Australian and US Opens and leading the Tour with seven titles.

Although he hadn’t played in four weeks since his Shanghai victory, Jannik Sinner quickly shook off the rust overcoming an early break from De Minaur. He immediately leveled the score, then broke De Minaur’s serve to close the first set and maintained control throughout the second, finishing the match with a strong service game including his eighth ace of the night. This victory extended Sinner’s unbeaten record against De Minaur to 8-0.

Earlier, American Taylor Fritz also made a strong start, defeating fourth seed Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-3 for his 50th win of the year. Fritz took advantage of Medvedev’s seven double faults in a tense first set with Medvedev’s frustrations boiling over as he smashed his racquet after conceding set point. Fritz kept his focus, knowing Medvedev was still a threat despite his outbursts which included smashing a courtside microphone.

Medvedev received a point penalty, adding to the drama as he was booed by the crowd. Fritz then secured the match by serving out to love. The ATP Finals will continue on Monday with the John Newcombe Group in action, featuring Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz against Norway’s Casper Ruud and Germany’s Alexander Zverev facing Russia’s Andrey Rublev.

In doubles action, Britain’s Henry Patten and Finland’s Harri Heliovaara defeated the second seeds, Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 marking a strong start to their tournament.