As Novak Djokovic found himself in the rare position of being powerless to control his own fate at the ATP Finals in Turin, conspiracy theories abounded.
Taken the distance by Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in his final group match at the ATP Finals, Djokovic’s hopes of advancing to the semi-finals rested on Jannik Sinner, the very man who had left him in a parlous position in the first place. Sinner’s landmark first win over Djokovic on Tuesday night meant that if the 22-year-old Italian defeated Holger Rune in the day’s second singles match, he would be confirmed as the winner of Green Group, in turn ushering Djokovic through to the semi-finals in second place. A win for Rune, meanwhile, would see the Dane progress at Djokovic’s expense.
Guaranteed to advance either way, just how much would Sinner give in pursuit of a victory that would potentially give the world No 1 a chance to avenge his first defeat since the Wimbledon final? Even Djokovic seemed unsure.
“What kind of battle do I expect tonight?” mused the Serb following his 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 6-1 win over Hurkacz. “I don’t know. I don’t know what Jannik is thinking about.
“Obviously, knowing he has qualified even before he enters the court, I think it’s a big relief. Knowing him, he’s going to try to win every match that he plays. He’s playing great.”
On a day when an uncharacteristic mid-match lull saw him drop 13 points in a row to Hurkacz, Djokovic’s analysis proved more reliable than his game. In a contest that even Sinner, a man not given to hyperbole, described as “a little bit of a rollercoaster”, the fourth seed gave everything. Sinner came out swinging freely to take the first set, struggled with a back injury in the face of a strong fightback from Rune in the second, and then rose to the challenge magnificently down the stretch, pulling off a brilliant drop volley to break in the penultimate game before serving out a 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 victory.
“It was important for me to reset after this good win against Novak, starting from zero again, being ready for a tough fight against Holger,” said Sinner, who had drawn a blank in his previous two meetings with Rune. “I never won against him. It’s nice that I won at least once against him.
“He’s an incredible player, serving really good. I started off really well. From the second set, he served better. It was obviously much, much tougher to break him. I think it was a good win, positive win.”
Any fears Sinner might leave something in reserve were allayed from the moment he conjured a winning pass to break in the opening game. Rarely can the first three minutes of a tennis match have stirred greater emotion. Sinner has enjoyed rollicking support from the home crowd this week, and as the locals rose to acclaim their hero, and the now-familiar chants of “Ole, ole, ole, Sin-ner, Sin-ner” cascaded down from the stands, the die was cast. With the better part of 12,000 souls hanging on his every stroke, only victory would do for the Italian. Sinner could not have given less than 100% even if he had wanted to.
In truth, there was never any danger of a tactical surrender. A model professional, Sinner has worked tirelessly to expand his repertoire, and the fruits of his labours were once again evident. Immaculate off the ground, as he almost invariably is, Sinner also enjoyed an 84% success rate behind his vastly improved first serve and won 20 of 23 net points. His progress in those two key areas, combined with his lithe, powerful movement and the quality of his return game, has lifted the Italian to a new level.
As he shrugged off a sore back – and saved a break point that would have left Rune serving for the match – Sinner’s dogged determination to sustain the momentum he has established since the US Open was plain.
“One motion I made, I felt a little, little click,” he said following his ninth straight win. “It went away. It’s all good with my body.”
Ironically, if anyone failed to turn up, it was Rune. That was certainly the case in the opening set, where the Dane fell well below the standards he has set since hiring Boris Becker as his coach last month. Yet the Dane recovered impressively, seizing the chance to level the match when Sinner’s physical problems began to bite, and he competed ferociously in the decider.
“I’ve always lost the first set when I played Jannik,” said Rune. “I was not so stressed about it, because I know I can fight back. But obviously he played very free. This match, he had absolutely nothing to lose. That probably put down his nerves a little bit.”
Rune showed remarkable composure to stay in the hunt after Aurélie Tourte, the French chair umpire, harshly declined to grant him a challenge early in the final set, handing Sinner a break point. Television replays showed Rune’s serve had landed long, but Sinner returned it crosscourt and Rune, who instinctively tracked the ball, challenged only after netting a half-hearted response. Tourte ruled that, having missed the shot, no appeal could be allowed.
A protracted debate proved fruitless for Rune, who was barracked by the crowd and responded with a sarcastic thumbs up, à la Djokovic. In the end, it didn’t matter: the 20-year-old saved the break point with one ace, and went on to hold with another.
Djokovic would have approved. He doubtless approved of the final outcome, too.