Jannik Sinner on Alex de Minaur's success: 'I'm happy that I was able to play at this level' | ATP Tour

Match the Reaction

Sinner on De Minaur's success: 'I'm glad I managed this level'

The Italian powerhouse outlasted De Minaur in the first match of the Nitto ATP Finals

November 10, 2024

After a month without competitive tennis, perhaps Jannik Sinner surprised himself with the level of tennis he produced on Sunday night at the Nitto ATP Finals.

The No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings admitted he felt a bit rusty at the start of his opening match against Alex de Minaur, but it wasn't long before he was close to breaking out. After a break in the morning, Sinner found his rhythm and wrapped up the victory in 85 minutes to start his quest for a first trophy at the end of the season.

“I'm glad I was able to play at this level today,” said Sinner, whose last tour-level match was his victory at the Shanghai Masters in October. “It's a good start for my team in this competition, in this competition, given that it's been four weeks since I played an official match.

“All games are very difficult to play with him. He is a great warrior. You have to earn every point you play. Every time we play, he changes a few things, so I have to be very careful. It's very difficult. We have to see not only the result, but also how the game goes.”

Sinner, who has seen his Tour-leading 66 victories in 2024 (joining Alexander Zverev), wants to become the third player to win the Australian Open, US Open and Nitto ATP Finals in one season (Federer, Djokovic ). With his victory over De Minaur, the 23-year-old is level with Taylor Fritz – his next opponent – at the top of the Ilie Nastase Group.

“He [Fritz] it has improved a lot in the last one and a half, two years,” added Sinner, who leads Fritz 2-1 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. “He serves much better [and] hit the ball very, very hard. He is a great competitor.

“I have to be at the top if I want to win or if I want to come close.” I was training with him earlier in the week. It was a very difficult practice set. It will be hard, this I know. I know I have to raise my level. Hopefully I can do that, and then we'll see how it goes.”