Jannik Sinner vs. Taylor Fritz: Preview Nitto ATP Finals 2024 Title Match | ATP Tour

Nitto ATP Finals

The wary sinner Fritz is out for revenge in the Turin title match

World No. 1 hopes that history in 2023 does not repeat itself in Sunday's Nitto ATP Finals

November 16, 2024

It is a tall order to suggest that Jannik Sinner has unfinished business at the end of a season in which he won the first two Grand Slams among seven titles and became the first Italian man to earn the year-end ATP No. 1 presented by PIF.

However, there is still one burning desire to make the season feel truly complete. Twelve months on from a poor performance against Novak Djokovic in the Nitto ATP Finals title match, Sinner is looking to win the final of the season for the first time in front of his adoring fans, who left the Inalpi Arena dejected.

There is a lot of work to be done on Sunday to make the dream a reality, however, as the 23-year-old faces a fifth Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting (everything is tough) against Taylor Fritz, who won the eight-match winning streak two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion. Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals on Saturday to move up to No. 4 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

Fritz, who became the first American to reach the final since James Blake in 2006, made the pair's first meeting in Indian Wells in 2021, but Sinner has won the past three, including a straight-sets win in the group stage earlier this week, and in September's US Open final .

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Image courtesy of TDI

Sinner may feel he will have the slight edge in the rout – despite Fritz holding his own in extended cross-court battles with Zverev in the semi-finals – but the American can deny that if he has a big night in action.

What matters will be the number of first games he will play. The 27-year-old American player leads the competition with 83.6 percent. But his second win percentage of 42.2 is the lowest among the Elite Eight. [Sinner heads the list at this year’s tournament with 66.7 per cent.]

With Sinner also topped the charts with a 64 percent win rate he is coming back Second, Fritz has a decision to make: Take something from the first serving and play more, or return it to have a special night at the first serving. Method – and execution – can be the key to the game.

In his 6-4, 6-4 loss to Sinner on Tuesday, Fritz won just 38 percent of second-hand points while Sinner won 59 percent. The Californian will be keen not to give Sinner too many looks on his second delivery on Sunday.

Players with 25 matches or less are eliminated on the way to the Nitto ATP Finals tournament

*It played just three games

After advancing to the final and thinking about playing Sinner again, Fritz said he felt better about his loss in the group stage this week than he did after his US Open loss to the Italian.

“The US Open I felt like I was trying to keep myself active, live, win points by hitting big shots or play his mistakes. It's like no repeat, consistent ways to win points,” Fritz said.

“The game we played here…. I felt more comfortable from the start. I got opportunities in that game. I had chances to break him in both sets. He had an equal number of opportunities, and took his. He played big points better than me in the group stage.”

Sinner, who won the Australian Open and the US Open this year, will be keen to avoid seeing a beaten opponent get revenge in the final. Last year, in one of the best matches of the season, Sinner broke Djokovic down in the third set of the match, but fell to the Serbian 6-3, 6-3 in the final.

Asked to look ahead to the final, Sinner said, “It's almost the same situation as I was in last year. I've grown in 12 months now as a player. Tomorrow will be an exciting day either way. I'm also happy to be in this position.

Fresh off a semi-final loss to Italy, Casper Ruud was asked to compare Sinner to seven-time Nitto ATP Finals champion Djokovic, the Norwegian replied: “Jannik hits the ball faster than Novak. He doesn't let you breathe. Novak can play rallies You can't say it's easy to play Novak because he is the best in history At least with Novak you can play a lot of circles and not be afraid to rip Novak, like, a bomb down the line or on the court or these things,” said Ruud.

Sunday's title game starts at 6 pm CET/12 noon ET.