TURIN, Italy — Jannik Sinner has played his part brilliantly. The spotlight now shifts to Carlos Alcaraz, who needs just one more victory to pave the way for a thrilling final against his biggest rival.
Sinner triumphed over Alex de Minaur with a score of 7-5, 6-2 on Saturday, enhancing his impressive record to 13-0 against the Australian. This win propels him to the championship match of the ATP Finals, cheered on by his home crowd.
The second-ranked Sinner is determined to defend his title in this prestigious end-of-season showdown featuring the top eight players. In Sunday’s anticipated final, he is set to face either Alcaraz or Felix Auger-Aliassime, who were in action later.
While Alcaraz has already bagged the year-end No. 1 ranking, he is eager to make his mark by reaching his inaugural final at this tournament.
Sinner and Alcaraz have clashed in the last three Grand Slam finals: Alcaraz edged out Sinner in a thrilling fifth-set tiebreak to clinch the French Open; Sinner countered with a victory at Wimbledon, while Alcaraz again topped Sinner at the US Open.
Sinner’s impressive run this year includes a victory at the Australian Open against Alexander Zverev in the final, leaving both him and Alcaraz with two major titles this season.
This marks Sinner’s third consecutive final appearance in Turin, and he has yet to drop a set in finals since losing to Novak Djokovic in the 2023 championship match—making it 18 straight sets won.
After facing a tough situation at 0-40 in his opening service game, Sinner saved three break points before securing a pivotal break against De Minaur for a 6-5 lead, which propelled him to serve out the set.
The second set unfolded smoothly for Sinner as he raced to a commanding 4-0 advantage.
“I was pleased with my serving and how I handled the crucial moments,” Sinner reflected.
Sinner’s winning streak on indoor hard courts now stands at 31 matches—dating back to that 2023 final against Djokovic—without dropping serve this week.
His first encounter with De Minaur was back in 2019 at the Next Gen ATP Finals, where he clinched his first professional victory. Notably, Sinner has won 29 out of the 31 sets they’ve contested.
“I know the strategy to beat him, but executing it isn’t simple,” De Minaur admitted. “You need to hit the ball with tremendous speed, precision, and depth right near the lines. I strive for that, but it’s incredibly challenging… My service game faltered a bit and could use improvement.”
