By Canadian Press

Sinner serenaded with soccer chants by Italian fans after beating Tsitsipas at ATP Finals

Nov 12, 2023 | 11:48 AM

TURIN, Italy (AP) — “Olé, Olé, Olé Olé, Sin-ner, Sin-ner.”

The way the crowd serenaded Jannik Sinner after his brisk 6-4, 6-4 win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the opening match of the ATP Finals on Sunday made it sound like a soccer stadium inside the Turin arena.

Before the Italian could respond during an on-court interview, fans started singing his name so loudly that all he could do was step back, smile and say, “Grazie.”

“The feeling is this,” Sinner said. “Kind of a football stadium. Also with the roof closed, it’s a little bit louder. It’s nice. It means that the people, they really care about me.”

Under an enormous spotlight as the poster boy for the tournament, Sinner didn’t show any nerves at the season-ending event for the year’s top eight players.

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Supported by chants of “Vai Jannik” (“Go Jannik”) and signs that read “Facci Sognare” (“Let us dream”), Sinner gave the fans just what they came for with his blistering baseline shots and strong serve.

The 22-year-old Sinner is finishing up a year in which he has claimed four titles including his first Masters 1000 trophy and is up to a career-high No. 4 in the rankings — the first Italian that high since Adriano Panatta nearly a half-century ago.

Sinner even showed off some of his newfound touch when he produced a backhand topspin lob winner while on the run early in the second set.

Then on his first match point, Sinner spun an ace out wide on the deuce court to finish the match off in 1 hour, 25 minutes.

It was Sinner’s tour-leading 14th win indoors this year — against just one loss.

“The match went really, really well and the crowd support was crazy,” Sinner said. “It’s not just about improvement, it’s about destinations and the destination I wanted to reach this year was to be here.”

Sinner served nine aces to Tsitsipas’ six amid fast conditions inside the Pala Alpitour and didn’t face a single break point.

“He definitely has improved his serve, and he showed it today,” Tsitsipas said. “There wasn’t much I could do. I was trying to guess sometimes. He serves really close to the lines, to the corners. … I’m not the Elastigirl from the superheroes to be behind these balls.”

Tsitsipas, the 2019 champion, had cut short a practice session on Friday due to an apparent physical issue but he said he was “absolutely fine.”

Later in the green group, Novak Djokovic was to revive his budding rivalry with Holger Rune needing only one more match win to secure the year-end No. 1 ranking for a record-extending eighth time.

Matches in the red group on Monday feature Carlos Alcaraz vs. Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev vs. Andrey Rublev.

The top two finishers in each group advance to the semifinals.

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AP Tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Andrew Dampf, The Associated Press