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The Italian broke down Tsitsipas' backhand and blitzed to a 6-4, 6-4 win in the first singles match of the week.

BySteve Tignor

Published Nov 12, 2023

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Late in the second set, after missing yet another backhand, Stefanos Tsitsipas took a few seconds to stare down at the court in front of him. He didn’t look impressed.

Whether it was the speed of the surface, or the thin air in Alps-adjacent Turin, or the pace of the ball coming off his opponent’s strings, or the roar of the crowd that was rooting against him, life happened a little too fast for Tsitsipas on Sunday. In 85 hard-hitting minutes, he lost his opening match of the ATP Finals to Italy’s Jannik Sinner 6-4, 6-4.

Some players try to break down their opponent’s strengths, but in this match, Sinner went straight at Tsitsipas’s weakness, his one-handed backhand, and quickly left it in ruins. At 2-2 in the first set, Sinner broke serve by forcing a backhand error from Tsitsipas. The same thing happened in the opening game of the second set, as Sinner pounded the ball over and over into Tsitsipas’s one-hander, and broke again.

It was all he would need.

Sinner never faced a break point in the 85-minute win.

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Sinner made more first serves, hit more winners, and never faced a break point. Playing close to the baseline, he was able to get on top of the rallies with his serve and forehand, and he had the stronger and more reliable backhand. With the crowd behind him and the surface favoring his heavy-groundstroke barrage, Sinner grabbed the initiative as early as possible and never backed off.

Serving for the first set at 5-4, Sinner nervously sent a jumping backhand long. But he shrugged it off right away and hit the same jumping backhand for a winner on the next point. Serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set, Sinner showed some tightness by double faulting. Bu then he loosened right up again and hit a service winner, a forehand winner, and an ace for the win.

“I tried to stay very aggressive,” Sinner said.

It’s a game plan that should work for him in these conditions, and in front of this crowd. As Tsitsipas knows, life—and the ball—comes at you fast in Turin, and Sinner seems to like it that way.

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