Jannik Sinner will enter the semi-final stage of the 2024 ATP Finals not only undefeated but also without losing a set after besting Daniil Medvedev.
The 15th chapter of the rivalry between these two players was written in Turin, and after Medvedev initially won the first six matches in the rivalry, his Italian opponent has now completely turned it around.
Coming into this match, two of the last four Medvedev's losses were against Sinner, and the Italian further worsened his opponent's record by beating him for the third consecutive time in slightly over a month.
For the Russian player, the mission in this match was straightforward. He needed to win the match in two sets to advance into the semi-finals of the tournament after Taylor Fritz bested Alex de Minaur in the first match of the day.
Sinner, on the other hand, had his spot secured, as one set won from De Minaur was enough for him to come into this match with the certainty of advancing at the event regardless of the result.
Still, both are competitors, and both want to win. On top of that, there were 200 points and over $300,000 in prize money at stake, meaning that there was plenty to fight for.
Medvedev recently spoke about his lack of motivation to perform, but he certainly tried his best in this match, even though he couldn't push the Italian any more than in any of their previous meetings in the past 12 months.
In the first set of the match, both held their serves relatively easily, but that was until the sixth game. Medvedev faced two break points, but also thanks to his serve, he was able to save both and win the game to make it 3-3.
After that, however, Sinner was completely unstoppable. He won 12 of the last 13 points in the first set, completely dominating his opponent to break and win the opening set of the match 6-3.
That meant Medvedev was out of contention for the remaining semi-final spot, sending Fritz into the semi-finals of the tournament. While it might have appeared that he lost a bit of motivation, as the Russian player was broken immediately to fall behind 1-3, he proved that wasn't the case.
Medvedev broke back, and he even led 4-3 in the second set of the match. Unfortunately for him, Sinner once again had an insane end of the set, winning three games in a row to win the second set and the match 6-3, 6-4, completing a perfect clean sweep in the round-robin stage.
In the semi-finals, he will play against the second player from the other group, who could be even his rival Carlos Alcaraz. After the win, Sinner was obviously happy about his game as well as the atmosphere in Turin.
"I know what I’ve achieved this year. I try to step on the court with a good mindset. I have a great team behind me. I have beautiful people around me who support me daily, which for me is even more important."
"Tennis-wise, I just try to enjoy it here, at least while I’m on the court. When I’m off the court I try to prepare in the best possible way for every match. The atmosphere is amazing. I’m just trying to play some good tennis."
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