Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals which will be held from November 12 to November 19. He is the fourth player to qualify after Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev.
The Italian advanced by defeating Marcos Giron in the Rolex Shanghai Masters second round. After competing at the Pala Alpitour as an alternate in 2021 after fellow countryman Matteo Berrettini withdrew due to injury, he has now qualified for the year-end championships for the first time.
Sinner won his sixth match in a row by defeating Marcos Giron 7-6(7), 6-2 on Saturday.
“I knew [I could qualify] before the match, so I wanted to accomplish this here. I’m very happy. It was our main goal this season, and I’m very happy I’m officially going to be in Turin in front of the home crowd there. It means a lot” Sinner said as quoted by ATP in Shanghai after beating Giron.
The year 2023 has been a successful season for Sinner. The Italian won his first ATP Masters 1000 trophy in Toronto and reached his first major semifinal at Wimbledon.
Sinner, who won titles in Beijing and Montpellier this year, also had also defeated Carlos Alcaraz in what was regarded as one of the year’s best matches to go to the final of the Masters 1000 tournament in Miami. In addition, Sinner advanced to the finals in Rotterdam, Indian Wells, and Monte Carlo.
Sinner displayed confidence on the big stage when he participated as an alternate in Turin two years ago. The Italian overcame Daniil Medvedev in a final set tie-break after defeating Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets.
“Two years ago I had a chance to play there, a couple of matches, because of Matteo hurting himself, and it was a tough moment for him,” Sinner told ATP Media.
“I just tried to play somehow the best tennis I had in that moment, but it is a little bit of a different feeling when you make it in the official eight. I’m very happy about this achievement and really looking forward to it.”
When asked about his Nitto ATP Finals experience, Sinner said, “I started to watch the finals when they were played in London. I guess it was the famous four. Rafa [Nadal], Roger [Federer], Novak [Djokovic], Andy [Murray]. I also watched the final between Grigor [Dimitrov] and [David] Goffin. It’s a very exciting tournament.”