Sinner's the winner, as Fritz falls short

TURIN, Italy — The soccer-like chants of "ole". The vast array of fans dressed in his theme color of orange. The banners and signs — one of which declared: "Sinner for president."

Late in the second set of his victory over Taylor Fritz at the ATP Finals on Tuesday, Jannik Sinner used all the adulation in his home country to his advantage.

When the top-ranked player produced a backhand passing shot up the line while on the run, he held his finger up to his ear to encourage the crowd to cheer louder.

"I read a little bit where he was playing and I just tried to pass him somehow, because, if not, it would have been a very easy volley for him," Sinner said. "The crowd helped me a lot. This is a very special occasion for me.

"I've always liked playing at home. If you like the fans and the people supporting you, it's a big help," Sinner added.

Sinner made it two wins in two matches in front of his home fans at the Finals, beating Fritz 6-4, 6-4 in a rematch of the US Open final that the Italian also won in straight sets.

Sinner turned up his intensity when it mattered most. He survived a marathon service game midway through the first set, then broke his American opponent with a huge forehand up the line on his first set point.

During and after the match, the crowd inside Inalpi arena chanted: "Ole, Ole, Ole; Sin-ner, Sin-ner."

Sinner saved the only break point that he faced and nearly matched Fritz with six aces to the American's seven.

But Fritz tested Sinner over two close sets and thought his performance was a step up from the US Open final.

"There's a lot of positives I can take out of it," Fritz said. "For all of the match, I didn't feel overwhelmed. I felt like I was right there."

Sinner, who beat Alex de Minaur in his opening match at the season-ending event for the top eight players, improved to 23-1 in his last five tournaments.

Sinner, bidding to become the first Italian to win the prestigious year-ending tournament having reached the final last year, tops the Ilie Nastase Group with two straight sets wins, looking odds-on to reach the semifinals.

Fritz is tied on one win with Russian Daniil Medvedev who earlier beat Australian debutant De Minaur to keep himself in contention for a semifinal spot.

"It was a very tough match, we both knew exactly what to expect," Sinner said after his 67th victory of the season.

"He was very aggressive. I managed to serve very well in the crucial moments. I'm happy how I handled the tough situations, like at 3-3 in the second set, when the momentum could have changed if he had broken me."

Fritz will be hopeful of beating De Minaur in his last group match to reach the semifinals, although world No 4 Medvedev, the 2020 champion, has it all to do against Sinner.

Earlier, Medvedev moved back into contention with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over De Minaur following a temper tantrum in his previous match.

Medvedev didn't face a single break point and was generally much sharper than in his straight-sets loss to Fritz on Sunday — during which he smashed his racket and lost his cool twice.

Sinner leads the group while Fritz and Medvedev are next with one win each.

De Minaur, who is making his debut at the Finals, lost both of his opening matches.

The top two finishers from each round-robin group advance to the semifinals.

On Thursday, Medvedev faces Sinner and De Minaur plays Fritz in the final round of group matches.

In the other group on Monday, Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud beat Andrey Rublev and Carlos Alcaraz, respectively.

Sinner is playing at home for the first time since it came to light that he had tested positive in two separate drug tests earlier this year.

A decision to clear Sinner of wrongdoing prior to the US Open was appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency in September. A final ruling in the case is expected early next year.

'Block the noise'

When his match was over, Medvedev closed his eyes and held his fingers to his ears. Then he wrote on a camera lens, "block the noise."

"I went into this match blocking the noise, even from myself," Medvedev said.

"No, like, tantrums and stuff. Just block the noise. And I really didn't care what was happening on the court. I just tried to play and it was a good feeling."

Medvedev won the Finals in 2020 — the last edition held in London.

"The more popular you become, the more fans you get, the more haters you get, the more attention you get. And, sometimes, even the good noise can put you off balance," Medvedev said.

"You know, you win everything and everyone thinks you're a god. Then you lose two matches and everyone is like, 'finished, your career is finished'.

So, sometimes, it's good to just block it," Medvedev added.