World No.1 and home favorite Jannik Sinner has launched his bid to clinch the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Finals for the first time with a decisive 6-3, 6-4 victory over tournament debutant Alex de Minaur on Sunday.
Sinner, who finished as runner-up to Novak Djokovic in last year's prestigious year-ending tournament, faced early challenges as he dropped serve in the first set. However, the Italian quickly regained momentum, leveraging his powerful baseline play to dominate the match.
The 23-year-old, fresh off winning this year's Australian and US Open titles, maintained an undefeated streak against De Minaur, marking his eighth consecutive victory over the Australian contender.
Despite a four-week hiatus from competitive play following his Shanghai title—his seventh of the season—Sinner displayed remarkable resilience. After briefly trailing 2-1 in the opening set, he broke back swiftly, with the roaring crowd at the 13,000-seat Inalpi Arena fueling his performance.
\"Considering I hadn't played for four weeks, I'm very happy,\" Sinner shared at court side. \"I started off with some unforced errors at the beginning of the match but I stayed there mentally knowing that at some point my tennis would arrive. It arrived quite early and started to return very well. Today I'm pleased with the win and it will give me confidence.\"
While Sinner is aiming to cap off a stellar year on the court, a shadow remains over the Italian. He was cleared of wrongdoing by an independent tribunal after testing positive for the anabolic agent clostebol in March. The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted his explanation that the substance entered his system through massages and sports therapy from a support team member. However, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has appealed the 'no fault or negligence' decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
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Jannik Sinner opens ATP Finals campaign with win over De Minaur
cgtn.com
