It’s Championship Sunday in Turin.
2024 has been the year of Jannik Sinner on the ATP tour. He is now 69-6, with seven titles, two of which were his first two Majors. Jannik holds an over 3,000-point lead in the rankings, as he looks to end the year with the third biggest title of his career. But in order to do so, he must overcome Taylor Fritz for the second time this week, and the American is also enjoying the best season of his career.
Sunday’s play begins at 3:00pm local time with the doubles championship match, featuring the bottom seeds against the top seeds, as its Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz (8) vs. Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic (1). On Monday in round-robin play, Krawietz and Puetz defeated Arevalo and Pavic in straight sets. They also outlasted Arevalo and Pavic in the semifinals of the US Open back in September.
Jannik Sinner (1) vs. Taylor Fritz (5) – Not Before 6:00pm
A year ago at this same event, Sinner won his first four matches, before losing the championship match to Novak Djokovic, a man he had defeated during round-robin play. The Italian comes into a second consecutive final in Turin with a record of 4-0, though the difference this year is how dominant he’s been through four matches. Last year, he played a trio of three-setters to arrive at this stage, and spent nine-and-a-half hours on court. This year, he won all four of his matches in straight sets, spending only five-and-a-half hours on court.
Fritz endured a much tougher road to this final, not only losing to Sinner during round-robin play, but fighting through three-set wins over both Alex de Minaur and Alexander Zverev. Taylor is now 52-22 this season, which saw him win two titles at 250-level events, and reach his first Major final in New York, where he also lost to Sinner in straight sets. Overall Sinner leads their head-to-head 3-1, with Fritz’s only victory coming in their first matchup almost four years ago.
So will Sinner lose this final for a second straight year to a man he defeated during round-robin play? I would be rather surprised if he did, considering how much fresher Jannik should be for this year’s final, and how comfortably he’s defeated Taylor in their last two meetings. Sinner is a big favorite to win the ATP Finals for the first time on Sunday.
