Jannik Sinner recorded one of the biggest wins of his career after edging out Novak Djokovic 7-5 6-7(5) 7-6(2) in three hours.
The Italian produced one of the best performances of his career after he defeated the world number one in three hours of brutal tennis.
Despite the win Sinner still isn’t qualified for the semi-finals yet as he prepares to face Holger Rune on Thursday.
The start of the match saw a quick tempo from both players as they used the fast conditions to their advantage.
This saw the first three games resulting in love service holds before Djokovic applied the first bit of pressure on return.
However Sinner continued the theme of firing down aces as he survived a tight fourth game.
Djokovic seemed to be the more confident on serve as well as the more consistent on return as the Serb was the one to create the first break points of the match.
The depth of Djokovic’s consistent baseline game was suffocating Sinner’s baseline firepower as the defending champion created break point in the sixth game.
However some world-class point construction saw Sinner survive a tight service game as he held for 3-3.
That seemed to be the energetic spark that the Italian was looking for as he increased the intensity on return and created a break point of his own, which Djokovic saved with authority.
As the end of the set was approaching, it was Djokovic who was more erratic in his decision-making on big points with a poor approach to the net giving Sinner the chance to break in the eleventh game.
An initiative Sinner took, as Djokovic was seemingly frustrated with the crowd disrupting his service motion, and the Italian broke for a 6-5 lead.
There were no signs of nerves from Sinner as he cruised through a decisive service game, holding to love, and sealing the opening set 7-5.
A response was needed from Djokovic in the second and a response was what happened as he elevated his game to new heights after a sizzling start by Sinner.
Both players continued to play dominant tennis on serve as Sinner was starting to come under more pressure but was rising to the occasion in impressive fashion.
The Italian produced a couple of tight holds while Djokovic was easing through his service games even if the Serb needed a medical time-out on a neck injury.
However the intensity in Djokovic’s play never seemed to dip as the Serb had the perfect opportunity to break to level the match at one set all.
That didn’t happen though as Sinner was brave in his tactics and persistent as well as resistant in his approach as the second set went to a tiebreak.
Sinner’s tactical boldness earned the Italian a mini-break advantage on two separate occasions but the fourth seed was too passive when it really mattered.
That cost the Italian the set as Djokovic came back to edge the tiebreak 7-5 and force a deciding set as he demanded a reaction from the passionate Turin crowd.
In the final set, both players brought a high level of play on serve as Sinner remained focused despite the second set setback.
The winner of this match would be defined by small margins and it was Sinner who broke first in the sixth game as the Italian hit two world-class returns to take a 4-2 lead.
However back game Djokovic in this long tug of war for dominance as it was the world number one’s turn to produce world-class returns as he broke back in the next game.
After that the atmosphere and drama continued to unfold between Djokovic and the crowd as both players cruised through their service games with the final set being decided by a tiebreak.
Despite Djokovic’s best efforts throughout the contest, it was Sinner who played an unbelievable tiebreak and claimed seven of the nine points on offer to win his second consecutive group stage match.
Sinner will now look to book place in the semi-finals on Thursday when he takes on Holger Rune while Novak Djokovic will know that a win over alternate Hubert Hurkacz will seal his place in the last four.
