Sinner, Zverev posted perfect 3-0 records in the group stage
After six days of elite group stage action at the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals, the knockout rounds kick off in Turin on Saturday.
Home favorite Jannik Sinner, ranked No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, will look to continue his perfect week when he takes on Casper Ruud at the Inalpi Arena. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev, who also posted a 3-0 round-robin record, will face Taylor Fritz.
In the doubles, Aussies Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson take on Germans Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz before top seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic take on Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten.
(1) Jannik Sinner (ITA) vs. (6) Casper Ruud (NOR)
Playing on home soil for the first time this year – and as world No. 1 for the first time – Sinner has advanced to the semi-finals without dropping a set. The Italian has not lost more than four games in a single frame and has only been broken twice on four break chances combined against De Minaur, Fritz and Medvedev.
“The atmosphere here is great, so I’m just trying to play good tennis this week,” Sinner said after completing his undefeated group stage.
His perfect start on the Inalpi Arena’s indoor hard court continues a stellar season, highlighted by seven titles on tour. Six of those trophies have come on hard courts, including his first two Grand Slam titles (Australian Open, US Open) and three ATP Masters 1000s crowns (Miami, Cincinnati, Shanghai).
“I know what I’ve accomplished this year, so I’m trying to go out on the field with a good attitude,” he said of his continued success. “I have wonderful people around me who support me every day, which is very important to me. I try to enjoy my time on the court.”
Ruud, whose two titles came on the clay of Barcelona and Geneva in 2024, has the unenviable task of trying to slow Sinner’s role on the pavement. He has not yet had an advantage over the Italian in two previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings. Both matches took place on indoor hard courts in Vienna, but it has been more than three years since their last meeting.
The Norwegian could not have had better preparation for the world number 1 than the gauntlet he faced to reach the semi-finals. After beating Alcaraz, the No. 3 man in the PIF ATP Rankings, Ruud allowed just one break point in a tight defeat to world No. 2 Zverev. Knowing he had to win a set against Andrei Rublev to secure his place in the semi-finals, he went one step further and won the match to end his group campaign at 2-1.
The task will only get tougher on Saturday when he will have to deal with a red-hot Sinner as well as the Italian crowd.
“He has been the best player in the world all year and plays at home and hasn’t dropped a set all week,” Ruud said. “He’s the player to beat this year and I’m going to do my best. It seems like this guy almost forgot how to lose. I’ll see if I can come up with something to challenge here. I’ll be prepared for probably the toughest competition of the year.”
(2) Alexander Zverev (GER) vs. (5) Taylor Fritz (USA)
Zverev and Fritz were among the busiest players on the ATP Tour this season. They are two of only five men with more than 50 match wins this year, alongside fellow Turin competitors Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Ruud.
With the Nitto ATP Finals title on the line, both men have much more in store.
“I think a lot of us are pretty beat up,” Fritz said after his three-set victory against Alex de Minaur on Thursday. “But if I’m in the semifinals of the Nitto ATP Finals, I have energy to give.”
Their semifinal will be Zverev’s 90th match of 2024 (69-20) and Fritz’s 74th (51-22). It will also be their fifth Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting of 2024.
“I’m certainly happy to be 3-0 in the group, but I think the semi-finals are going to be very difficult now,” said Zverev, who trails Fritz 5-6 in their rivalry. “(Taylor) has beaten me the last few times at the Slams, so I’m looking forward to that match.”
Zverev defeated the American in the quarter-finals in Rome this year, but Fritz triumphed at Wimbledon in five sets, at the US Open in four and at the Laver Cup in two. Fritz’s three-match winning streak against Zverev marks the first time either man has defeated the other three times in a row. But the German’s form – and his status as year-end No. 2 in the PIF ATP rankings – makes him the slight favorite in Turin.
Fritz almost pulled off the upset against Sinner in the round-robin stage, giving the home favorite all he could handle in two tight sets before being broken in the final game of each set. He then dropped the opening set against Alex de Minaur before finding his serve to turn the match around and ultimately seal his place in the semi-finals.
In this clash on Saturday, both men will look to use their big serves to set the tone. The ideal formula is simple: dominate service games and increase the pressure when returning. But nothing is easy at the Nitto ATP Finals.
Doubles SFs
Thursday’s results meant that Arevalo and Pavic won ATP Doubles No. 1 for the first time as a team. 1 as a team at the end of the year, presented by PIF Honors. On Friday, the Turin top seeds defeated home favorites Bolelli and Vavassori to seal their place in the semi-finals.
The Salvadoran/Croatian duo will hope to continue their positive streak against the in-form team of the tournament, Heliovaara and Patten. The British/Finnish team surpassed their place as seventh seeds and were the only doubles duo to post a 3-0 group record this week.
The opposite semi-final will see two compatriots go head-to-head as fifth-seeded Aussies Purcell and Thompson take on eighth-seeded Germans Krawietz and Puetz. Both teams finished the round-robin game at 2-1. The Aussies finished second in the Mike Bryan Group, while the Germans topped the Bob Bryan group thanks to their 5-2 set record.
