Sinner dispatches Ruud to reach ATP Finals title match

Turin: Jannik Sinner moved to within one win of capping his standout season in style when he dispatched Casper Ruud 6-1, 6-2 to reach the title match at the ATP Finals for the second consecutive year With the 69th win of his historic season, the 23-year-old became the youngest player since 20-year-old Lleyton Hewitt in 2002 to reach multiple title matches at the prestigious year-end event. Standing between Sinner and an eighth tour-level title in 2024 is American Taylor Fritz. Sinner, who has won 25 of his past 26 matches, beat Fritz in straight sets in the round-robin stage and is trying to become an undefeated champion at the event. The top seed is also the first player to reach the final without dropping a set since record seven-time champ Novak Djokovic in 2018, ATP reports. A year ago, Sinner beat Djokovic in the round-robin stage but lost to the Serbian in the final in Turin. Since then, he was won majors at the Australian Open and US Open and become the first Italian in history to rise to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Sinner will hope to close out his iconic individual season on Sunday against Fritz in the title match before he ends the year at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga next week. Ruud was competing in the semi-finals for the third time in Turin, having lost in the final to Djokovic in 2022. The 25-year-old ends the season at No. 6 in the PIF ATP Rankings, highlighted by his maiden ATP 500 title in Barcelona. –IANS