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There is not a shadow of doubt about Jannik Sinner being the best player in the world and he is the world No.1 by the length of a F1 straight. He highlighted that all over again by winning the ATP Finals for the first time having been runner-up last year to Novak Djokovic.
He is showing Djokovicesque qualities. In one our 24 minutes he defeated Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 which meant he went through the while tournament from the round robin stages without dropping a set. The last time such dominance was in evidence was when the great Ivan Lendl achieved the same feat in 1986 at the year-end tournament.
"Yeah sure, it was a very high-quality week, starting from the beginning, trying to understand the pace of the court, which then increased a little bit, which is normal because it was a bit more consumed," Sinner said.
"I just tried to play the best possible tennis I could in every single moment, which I've done here. The crowd helped me a lot. It was for sure one of the most special weeks I've had in a tennis court. Yeah, I'm very happy to have this trophy."
The atmosphere at the Inalpi Arena was fantastic. The sold-out crowd was chanting Sinner's name and when he produced his incredible shot making they started stomping the floor of the arena which made it sound like a locomotive was accelerating through.
Sinner broke Fritz in the vital seventh game of the first set with a terrific drop shot winner. He faced break points himself when he served for the set but saved those and powered down an ace with a wide angle to clinch the set.
It was in the fifth game of the second set that Sinner struck again as Fritz sent a return long on break point. The Italian kept the American at bay with a great backcourt game and heavy serves and on championship point Fritz went wide and Sinner raised his arms in victory.
"Look, he's the best player in the world. Not only is he the best player in the world, but he's playing also very well, at a high level," Fritz said. "I go into these matches expecting him to hit incredible shots. I can't act like that. It's not expected.
"When it happens, you just tell yourself there's nothing you can really do. When I do get frustrated, I get it out in a second or two. I might complain for a second, but then I'm always right back the next point.
"It's been a really good week for me. Obviously, it's a good way to end the year. Gives me a lot of, I guess, confidence finishing the season. I feel like I have a good idea of what things I need to improve on, but I also feel like I'm playing very good tennis. I feel like I've gone up a level and I'm much more confident in my game."
This marked the third time this year and the second time in a week that Sinner and Fritz had battled. From their five overall matches Sinner has won four including the US Open final in September. The last time Fritz beat Sinner was 2021.
Besides being the first Italian to win the title, Jannik is the first player to win the title on home soil, and the seventh overall, the last being Andy Murray in 2016. This win puts him on an eleven-match win streak, and he has won 26 of the previous 27 matches. He has now won eight titles in 2024, and the ATP Finals final was his 70th match win for the year - he is the first man to win that many titles and matches in a season since Murray in 2016, he won nine titles and 78 matches.
"My goal was to understand what I can achieve this year," Sinner said. "There was no specific goal of winning a Grand Slam or being No. 1 or whatever. It's going to be the same next year: whatever we can catch, we take, and the rest we learn. I think that was the mentality we approached this whole year, trying to raise my level in specific moments, which I've done throughout this year.
"I'm very happy about that because it's a very nice way to finish off an incredible season. A lot of wins, a lot of titles. I'm talking in the tennis court. I didn't put the goals and I cannot answer you what I achieved by putting the goals in the beginning of the year. I'm very happy, that's for sure."
The doubles champions at the ATP Finals are Germans Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz who defeated the No1 team Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic 7-6, 7-6. They are the first German combination to win the doubles event and join singles champions Boris Becker, Michael Stich and Alexander Zverev as German winners at the season ending tournament.
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