End of the year: Tennis star Sinner wins at the start of the finals – Medvedev angry

The Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner made a successful start to the ATP Finals in front of his home crowd. The Australian and US Open champion won his first group game in Turin against the Australian Alex de Minaur 6:3, 6:4. This meant that last year’s finalists achieved their first victory towards reaching the semi-finals as their goal.

In front of around 13,000 spectators, the top favorite had a little weakness at the beginning and gave up his second service game to make it 1-2. But cheered on by the audience, Sinner immediately came back – and equalized when the Australian served. From then on he dominated the game and didn’t let a short interruption in the second set due to a medic call in the stands deter him from his path.

First appearance in Italy this year

“It’s a great start for me,” said Sinner, who recently missed the event in Paris due to illness. “I started with some unforced errors, he played great at the start. I tried to stay with it mentally because I knew that hopefully my tennis would come at some point.”

It was Sinner’s first appearance at home after his acquittal following two positive doping tests became known. He still faces a ban. The World Anti-Doping Agency Wada recently appealed the case to the International Court of Arbitration for Sports in Lausanne.

At the end of the year tournament of the eight most successful tennis professionals of the season, which is worth 15.25 million euros, the two best in the two groups of four advance to the semi-finals.

In the first singles of this year’s event, former world number one Daniil Medvedev from Russia lost in frustration against American US Open finalist Taylor Fritz 4:6, 3:6.

At an inopportune time, Medvedev made three double faults in a row in the first section. When the score was 4:5, they lost the set – and Medvedev chopped up his racket out of anger.

But that’s not enough. When Medvedev once again took out his anger at a lucky, successful lob on his racket in the middle of the second round, he not only had to accept the break to make it 2:4. The world number four received a second warning and thus a point deduction. Fritz was allowed to start the next game at 15:0. The game was decided. “I thought to myself: ‘What the heck, I lost the game. I don’t care,'” Medvedev commented.

Zverev’s evening performance on Monday

The German hopeful Alexander Zverev leads the second preliminary group. On Monday evening (8.30 p.m./Sky), the world number two from Hamburg starts against Andrei Rublev from Russia.