ATP Finals Jannik Sinner wins against Stefanos Tsitsipas

(Turin) If Jannik Sinner was feeling the pressure as a crowd favorite at the ATP Finals, the Italian didn’t seem bothered.

Sinner scored a victory in two sets of 6-4, 6-4 at the expense of the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday in the opening match of the end-of-season tournament bringing together the eight best players of the year.

Under the cheers of the crowd, Sinner lived up to the expectations of the Italian fans with sharp baseline shots and a powerful serve.

Before he could even answer questions on the field, fans were chanting his name so loudly that he could do nothing but take a step back, smile and thank the crowd.

“It’s a bit like a football stadium. With the roof closed, it’s a little noisier, Sinner pointed out. It’s good. It means people really care about me. »

Aged 22, Sinner has won four titles this year, including a first in Masters 1000. He is fourth in the ATP rankings – becoming the highest-ranked Italian since Adriano Panatta, almost 50 years ago.

Sinner even showed off some of his new touch when he hit a backhand lob winner then early in the second set.

Then, on his first match point, Sinner made an ace from the far side of the court to end the match in one hour and 25 minutes.

It was the 14^e victory for Sinner indoors this year, against only one defeat.

“The match went really well and the support from the crowd was crazy,” Sinner said on the pitch. It’s not just about improvement, but also about where you’re going. And the destination I wanted to reach this year was here. »

Sinner had nine aces to Tsitsipas’s six on the fast court inside the Pala Alpitour. The Italian did not face any break points.

“He really improved his serve and he showed it today,” Tsitsipas observed. I couldn’t do much. I tried to guess a few times. It serves near lines and corners. »

Tsitsipas, the 2019 tournament champion, had cut short a training session on Friday due to an apparent arm problem.

Later in the day and still in the Green Group, Novak Djokovic faced Holger Rune. The Serb needed just one more victory to secure the top position in the year-end standings for an eighth time. Djokovic achieved the feat, which is also a record, thanks to a victory of 7-6 (4), 6-7 (1), 6-3.

The Serb broke his opponent’s serve at the start of the third set to lead 2-0. Rune broke in turn to bring the whole service level at 2-1, and Djokovic let his anger speak by breaking two rackets with his foot during the change of ends.

Djokovic, however, recovered as only he knows how, giving himself a three-game lead, at 5-2, to finally win on his serve two games later.

After this tournament, Djokovic will become the first player to be ranked number one in the world for 400 weeks. Roger Federer is the only other man to surpass the 300-week mark, with 310.

Monday’s matches in the Red Group feature Carlos Alcaraz against Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev against Andrey Rublev.

The top two players from each group advance to the semi-finals.