Tennis: Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner will play for the title on Sunday at the ATP Finals

TURIN, Italy – World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will attempt to win the ATP Finals for the seventh time when he faces fan favorite Jannik Sinner in the final of the prestigious ATP Finals on Sunday in Turin, Italy.

By winning the final, Djokovic will set a record for the most titles in this tournament. He and Roger Federer are tied with six wins.

The Serbian defeated Carlos Alcaraz in less than 90 minutes in the semi-finals on Saturday, winning 6-3 and 6-2 in a duel between the highest-ranked players in the world.

Earlier in the day, Sinner won his confrontation with Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-1. Siner is the first Italian to reach the final of this tournament.

Sinner beat Djokovic for the first time in his career earlier this week in the group stage. The Serbs will also have to negotiate with an emotional and partisan crowd again.

“He is playing great tennis, probably his best tennis ever,” Djokovic said. We played a very close game that day. The atmosphere was extraordinary. I would expect nothing less in the final, and the crowd would probably be even louder.

“It’s the final. I’ve been in this situation many times before. I’m very satisfied with the sensations I’m feeling and the way I’m playing. I hope I can give my best game tomorrow. »

Djokovic received plenty of encouragement from the crowd in Turin on Saturday, with many chanting his name between points.

Alcaraz and Djokovic had faced off four times this season before Saturday’s match, each winning twice. The Serbian won the last match, in the final in Cincinnati last August. Alcaraz defeated Djokovic in the Wimbledon final to win his second Grand Slam.

Djokovic said: “I went into the match with the right attitude and the right mentality, and I knew from the first point that it would be very intense.” He had break points in the first game at 15-40. »

Djokovic had won his last 15 matches after winning the first set. The trend did not appear ready to change when he quickly broke Alcaraz’s serve in the second set.

In the sixth game of the second set, Alcaraz had the opportunity to return the match to level serve, but Djokovic saved two break points.

If the Spaniard did not take advantage of the opportunity he had, Djokovic did not let his chance go to waste and broke his opponent’s serve in the next game, then wrapping things up on his serve.

Sinner has won all four of her matches so far in the tournament, including the match against her opponent Sunday in the final.

The Italian has received a lot of support from the fans in Turin since the beginning of the tournament.

“It’s a great honor to have that kind of pressure,” Sinner said. The audience gave me a lot of energy.

“It was a very difficult match. He started better than me, but somehow I managed to break him and that helped me.”

Sinner is ranked fourth in the world, which is the best ranking for an Italian since Adriano Panatta nearly half a century ago.

His win over Medvedev also made him the Italian who has won the most matches against members of the top five (10), surpassing the record set by Panatta.

Before last month, Medvedev had won all six confrontations between the athletes. Sinner achieved his first victories over Medvedev in the finals of the China and Vienna tournaments.