Jannik Sinner goes 3-0 in 2024 ATP Finals round robin, heads to semis over Daniil Medvedev

Jannik Sinner completed a flawless run through round-robin play at the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals, eliminating Daniil Medvedev from semifinal contention by winning the first set and going on to secure a 3-0 record in the Ilie Nastase Group, 6-3, 6-4.

The world No. 1’s 73-minute victory helped clinch the second semifinal berth for Taylor Fritz, who finished 2-1 in the Nastase Group with a three-set comeback over Alex de Minaur earlier on Thursday.

Sinner heads to the semifinals in pole position to better his 2023 Finals result, having finished runner-up last fall to Novak Djokovic after defeating the 24-time Grand Slam champion in round-robin play. Fresh off a title run at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, the Italian is on a nine-match winning streak and is yet to drop a set in Turin, improving his head-to-head with Medvedev to 8-7 (5-1 in 2024).

It was only 12 months ago that Medvedev was Sinner’s greatest nemesis, winning their first six meetings of their rivalry through March 2023. Sinner has turned the match-up on its head in the last year, defeating the former world No. 1 at this year’s Australian Open and US Open, along with Masters 1000 wins in Miami and Shanghai.

While Sinner has enjoyed a meteoric rise in 2024, winning both hard-court major titles and becoming the run-away ATP world No. 1, Medvedev has been stalled by a shoulder injury that has hindered his once-implacable consistency. After opening the year with deep runs at the Australian Open, BNP Paribas Open, and Miami Open, the 2021 US Open champion has reached just one major semifinal (Wimbledon) and none on the Masters level, likely to finish the season ranked outside the Top 4.

Still, the 28-year-old shook off a frustrating opening round-robin defeat to Taylor Fritz to knock out De Minaur and stay in semifinal contention. But once Fritz won his match, Medvedev had to pull off a near-impossible feat by defeating Sinner in straight sets in order to guarantee his advancement into the semifinals.

Sinner, who was already guaranteed to advance regardlesss of the result, sought to keep the match relatively uncomplicated on the outset and opened up a 15-40 lead on Medvedev’s serve in the sixth game. Though Medvedev saved both break points to hold on, he found himself down an identical deficit two games later and couldn’t dig out. Sinner gamely held to love and eliminated Medvedev from group play.

Despite having no shot at the semis, Medvedev had plenty to play for against a rival who has won seven of their last eight meetings, and navigated an early exchange of breaks to keep things close in the second set.

Down 0-30 in the ninth game, he showed off phenomenal athleticism but was ultimately outmatched by Sinner’s persistent power, and the young Italian broke to put himself a game from a clean sweep of group play.

A forehand miss from Medvedev pulled up match point and another brought Sinner over the finish line and into the semifinals, where he awaits the to-be-determined second-place finisher from the John Newcombe Group.