“Overview of events at the Final Tournament in Turin”, — write: sport.ua
What has definitely changed is the tennis era. For the first time in the last 23 years, no representative of the Big Three appeared at the Final Tournament. Roger Federer retired, Rafael Nadal will do so after the Davis Cup final at the end of November. Novak Djokovic, however, fulfilled the conditions of entry into the competition, finding himself in the sixth position in the Race of Champions, but the 37-year-old Serb now has other priorities in tennis. Last year’s winner of the tournament did not come to Turin.
Let’s go directly to the course of the competition. Again, groups are traditionally named after outstanding tennis players of yesteryear.
Group stage Group of Ilye Nastase
tennis player
AND
IN
P
WITH
AT
1.
Yannick Sinner
3
3
6-0
3
2.
Taylor Fritz
3
2
1
4-3
2
3.
Daniil Medvedev
3
1
2
2-4
1
4.
Alex de Minaur
3
3
1-6
The tournament started with a meeting between Taylor Fritz and Daniil Medvedev. “Neutral”, which reached the semi-finals last year, conceded to the opponent primarily in the game on important balls. The American, on the other hand, did not give his opponent a single serve and broke once in each set. It turned out to be enough to win.
Yannick Sinner, last year’s tournament finalist and world No. 1, had an impressive 7-0 head-to-head advantage against Alex de Minaur. Few doubted his eighth victory. And so it happened.
In his second match, Medvedev managed to demonstrate a truly high-quality game for the only time in the tournament. He did not give De Minaur a single chance to dream of victory. For the entire match, Alex did not have a single break point – 2:6, 4:6.
Sinner in the second round showed a truly champion class. The point here is not so much in the level of the game – he was not bad, but no more – but in the pragmatism of the young master. The Italian did not give his opponent a single serve, and in both sets he made a break exactly when it was needed, taking the set – 6:4, 6:4.
Before the third round, all tennis players kept their chances of continuing the fight. After two victories, they were the highest at Sinner, the lowest at de Minaur. The Australian needed to beat Fritz in two games and hope that the Italian would do the same with the “neutral”, after which count the percentage of games won by himself and his opponents. And de Minaur won the first game in his match. That was the end of his successes at Pidsumkovo. Two more sets remained for Fritz.
Now Medvedev needed to beat Sinner in two games to reach the semi-finals. Let’s say frankly – a task with an asterisk. Of course, he failed to complete this mission. The Italian again, as in the previous match, added in the most important moments, this time realizing not, so to speak, real, but hidden match points in both sets. After that he calmly submitted to parties. So Yannick Sinner easily won the group, and Taylor Fritz advanced to the semi-finals from second place.
John Newcomb Group tennis player
AND
IN
P
WITH
AT
1.
Alexander Zverev
3
3
6-0
3
2.
Casper Ruud
3
2
1
4-3
2
3.
Carlos Alcaraz
3
1
2
2-4
1
4.
Andrei Rublev
3
3
1-6
In the very first match of John Newcomb’s group there was a big sensation. That is, the loss of Carlos Alcaraz against Casper Ruud in two sets can be called a sensation, if you do not know certain nuances. The fact is that the Spaniard caught a serious cold before the start of the Nitto ATP Finals 2024. And playing in a far from optimal physical condition against representatives of the top 10 is difficult for anyone.
In the next match of the day, Alexander Zverev beat Andrey Rublev without any problems. The German made a break in each game and did not even give the “neutral” a chance to dream about breakpoints. It is interesting that the Australian was able to take exactly the same 7 games in the match as the “neutral” in his.
By his own account, Alcaraz felt only slightly better after the day than he had in the first match. However, Rublev took the first set without any problems, 6:3. But in the second game, a real fight unfolded, which went to a tiebreak, where the Spaniard still pressed his opponent – 10:8. It is interesting that Rublev did not have a single break point in this match, while he had two set points in the tiebreak.
Due to quality first serves, Zverev and Ruud took their games as quickly as if they were late for a plane. In the first game, it ended in a tiebreak, which the German easily took. In the second, Zverev realized the only breakpoint for two in the entire match, thanks to which he took this set too – 6:3.
As in the group of Ilie Nastase, in the group of John Newcomb, before the last round, all tennis players kept their chances of reaching the semi-finals. It is clear that they were the highest for Zverev with two victories, and the lowest for Rublev with two defeats.
Carlos Alcaraz had to beat Zverev. Even this victory, under certain conditions, could prevent him from leaving the group. However, it was not possible to get it. In the first set, the Spaniard still managed to hold his own serve at the cost of superpowers, and the opponent took the game only on a tiebreak. However, already at the start of the second set, Zverev made a break, which he held until the end of the meeting. Alcaraz failed to realize his only chance, a double break point in the seventh game, and regardless of the outcome of the evening match, he left the tournament.
Ruud and Rublev decided who would become the second semi-finalist from this group. And it all ended very quickly. The Norwegian won the first game with a single break, and all subsequent events did not matter. One game was enough for Ruud to pass. Moreover, he also won the entire match in three sets. For the second year in a row, “Neutral” Rublev ends the final tournament with three losses. Well, that’s great.
Semifinals Taylor Fritz – Alexander Zverev – 6:3, 3:6, 7:6(3)
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. Taylor Fritz The first semi-final turned out to be glorious. The German, who traditionally spends the end of seasons strongly, was considered the favorite in it. Zverev does not have a single Slam in his portfolio, but he won the Final twice. And this year in Turin, in three meetings, he did not lose a single game on his serve. How strange it was to see in the first set that Fritz was reserving it! Yes, yes, and surpassed the opponent in the number of aces, and the only one he broke for two. However, the second game turned out to be a mirror both in terms of the content of the game and in terms of the result.
Towards the middle of the third set, the opponents got a little tired. The serves were no longer so cannon and accurately directed, there were enough long draws with a monotonous game from left to left in anticipation of an opponent’s mistake. There were also many breakpoints, but none of them were implemented. The case went to a tiebreak, where Fritz showed himself brilliantly. Not a single mistake from the American with three easy ones from Zverev led Taylor to a triple match point, the first of which he realized with a cool cross from the right. It is interesting that the number of points won by each of the players turned out to be equal – 97 each.
Yannick Sinner – Kasper Ruud – 6:1, 6:2
As interesting and fierce a fight we saw in the first semi-final, the second one turned out to be just as predictable. The first racket of the world did not leave any chance to his opponent. The first and only real defeat in the tournament.
Final Yannick Sinner – Taylor Fritz – 6-4, 6-4
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. Yannick Sinner Before the main match of the tournament, the question of the favorite was not on the agenda. Sinner and Fritz met twice this season: in the final of the US Open and already in Turin in the group stage. Both times the Italian won without any questions. Five sets won out of five possible. What’s more, directly at the Final Tournament, no player took even a game from Sinner. And also home Italian fans. What could be the intrigue?
By and large, she didn’t exist. In the first game, Fritz held until the seventh game, when he lost his serve. The only thing the American managed to do was to impose a struggle on Sinner when he was serving for the set. It even reached a breakpoint, but it was not possible to implement it.
In the second set, Fritz served even faster – in the fifth game. And although after that he slightly improved his level of play, he did not manage to get a chance to break. A legitimate victory for Sinner, and with the same score as in the group stage. For 5 matches, he did not lose a single set, which happened in men’s finals for the first time since 1986, since the time of the great Ivan Lendl. For this, the Italian will receive the maximum possible prize money – a little less than 4.9 million dollars.
It is clear that thanks to his brilliant performance, Sinner further strengthened his gap in the ATP ranking from his pursuers. Alexander Zverev, who is in the second position, is ahead of Yannik by 3915 points. Carlos Alcaraz continues to be third. But Taylor Fritz overcame Daniil Medvedev and climbed to the fourth place.
Even digit. Final Kevin Kravitz (Germany) / Tim Pütz (Germany) – Marcelo Arevalo (El Salvador) / Mate Pavic (Croatia) – 7:6(5), 7:6(6)
Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine. Tim Puetz (right) and Kevin Kravitz Simultaneously with the singles competition, the final tournament for men’s pairs took place in Turin. Rivals who were in the same group at the start also met here in the final. And Kravitz / Pütz defeated their rivals for the second time, which was a serious surprise. After all, before the tournament, German tennis players were in the middle of the second ten doubles rankings and had only two joint titles – at the ATR 500 home competition in Hamburg, last year and this year. Now they have three triumphs on their account, and both have climbed into the top 10 of the pairs ranking.