Defending champion Jannik Sinner will look to finish strong in his final outing of the season after beating Alex de Minaur to reach the title match of the ATP Finals, where he could face Carlos Alcaraz.
In a match of contrasting sets, the Italian world number two was frustrated by a combative performance from De Minaur in a 66-minute opening match but stunned the Australian in the second to win 7-5 6-2 and reach his third consecutive final in Turin.
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Sinner, who extended his unbeaten run on indoor hard courts to 30 matches, has not lost a set in the season-ending final since losing to Novak Djokovic in the 2023 final.
His form is such that he has yet to lose a single service game in this year’s tournament.
He will face either year-end number one Alcaraz or Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime in Sunday’s final as he bids to become only the fourth player to defend the men’s singles title this century, after Lleyton Hewitt, Roger Federer and Djokovic.
“I’m very happy. It’s the last event of the year, so it’s great to end this way,” Sinner said.
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“It was a very difficult match, especially at the start of the first set. He was serving very well. In the second set I tried to be aggressive, which worked well.
“Tomorrow I’m going to enjoy it and do my best. It’s been an incredible week.”
De Minaur stayed with Sinner for much of a tight first set (Getty Images)
The “incredible week” for Sinner comes at the end of an up-and-down year.
On the court, the 24-year-old enjoyed his second best season to date in terms of titles, winning five tournaments, including a successful defense at the Australian Open and a maiden Wimbledon crown.
Such performances occurred in a context of three-month doping ban which he accepted in February following two positive doping tests in 2024.
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It was accepted that Sinner did not intend to cheat, but the short ban caused a backlash from some other players.
In front of his home crowd on Saturday, there was nothing but cheers as he produced another relentless display of service.
After avoiding three break points in a rusty opening service game, Sinner conceded only four more points on serve in the opening set.
However, he was made to work for his breakthrough against a resilient De Minaur, who produced a number of big first serves and several moments of inspired, scrambling defense on the baseline that earned him applause from the largely partisan Italian crowd.
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Such courageous tennis helped De Minaur escape unscathed from four service games that ended in deuces.
The Australian’s resistance was finally broken in the 11th game – Sinner converting his eighth break point of the match – and from there the home favorite put on an exhibition.
A run of seven straight matches saw him win the first set and take a 4-0 lead in the next, before converting his second match point to close out the victory.
Sinner has surprisingly opted not to play for Italy in next week’s Davis Cup final. This event therefore marks its great chance to end 2025 in style.
Patten advances to doubles final and secures British champion
There was no British entry in singles this year, but a British champion is assured in doubles.
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Henry Patten of Essex and Harri Heliovaara of Finland beat the all-Italian pair of Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 6-4 6-3 in the first semi-final on Saturday.
The result continued a successful year for former Wimbledon champions Patten and Heliovaara, who won the Australian Open in January for their second Grand Slam title and added titles in Beijing and Paris.
Patten has already made this trip to Turin a memorable one, getting engaged to his girlfriend Ellie last Sunday. He and Heliovaara will face one of two British teams in Sunday’s final, with the second semi-final pitting Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski against top seeds Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool.
