Updated: November 18, 2024
Sinner makes history with his eighth Tour-leading title in 2024
Jannik Sinner closed out an extraordinary season in spectacular fashion on Sunday, winning his first trophy at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. The 23-year-old Italian delivered a near-perfect performance to defeat Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4, becoming the first Italian champion in the tournament’s 55-year history.
Sinner’s remarkable 2024 season began with his triumph at the Australian Open and concluded with his first title on Italian soil. During the match, his complete game was on full display, with his serve standing out as a decisive weapon. According to Infosys ATP Stats, Sinner won an impressive 83% (33/40) of points on his first serve, demonstrating his dominance.
“It’s amazing, my first title in Italy, and it means a lot to me,” said Sinner, who finished the year with a 50-3 record on hard courts. “It’s something really special. I focused on understanding each opponent and playing my best tennis. That was the key this week.
“It was a very high-level tournament for me. There were moments when I couldn’t have played better, so I’m very happy.”
Sinner’s victory was historic for several reasons. He became the first player since Ivan Lendl in 1986 to win the Nitto ATP Finals without losing a set. Additionally, he joined Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as the only players to win the Australian Open, US Open and Nitto ATP Finals in the same season. It is notable that Sinner is the first player born in the 2000s to claim the prestigious end-of-season trophy.
In a repeat of the US Open final and their group stage matchup earlier in the week, Sinner controlled the exchanges from the back of the court and limited Fritz’s ability to dictate the pace with his forehand. The Italian needed just 85 minutes to secure his fourth win in five meetings against the American, improving his Lexus ATP Head2Head series to 4-1.
For Fritz, reaching the final in Turin was equally a significant achievement. The 27-year-old American secured his career-high No. 4 ranking in the PIF ATP rankings on Monday, becoming the highest-ranked American player since Andy Roddick in 2009. Although he failed to become the tournament’s first American champion since Pete Sampras in 1999, Fritz was optimistic about his progress.
“It’s been a very good week for me and a strong way to end the year,” Fritz said. “It gives me a lot of confidence going into the preseason. I feel like I’m playing great tennis and now I know where I need to improve.
“When I was ranked No. 5 before, I didn’t feel like I belonged there. Now yes. That belief is huge, and overall it has been a great year.”
In a packed Inalpi Arena with 12,500 enthusiastic spectators, Sinner broke Fritz’s serve in the seventh game of the first set, outplaying the American in an intense exchange that culminated in a precise dropshot. Fritz was unable to land a single forehand winner in the set, as Sinner’s precision and power neutralized his strengths.
The Italian’s serve continued to shine in the second set, hitting 10 aces in the first 21 serves he placed. Sinner broke Fritz again in the fifth game and held his own, not allowing a single break point on serve throughout the match. He sealed his Tour-leading 70th victory of the season in emphatic fashion, extending his winning streak to 11 matches.
With this victory, Sinner cemented his status as the sport’s dominant force in 2024, delighting the 12,500 spectators and etching his name in tennis history as one of the best players of the year.
