New era dawns

Sinner ahead of the finals: “It was very tough for me!”

Jannik Sinner(Bild: AFP or licensors)

The top favorite is looking forward to his only home tournament this year: After the draw for the ATP Finals, Jannik Sinner said that this tournament in Turin is very special. "Because as an Italian I can play in Italy. I haven't been able to play here yet this year because I missed Rome, which was very tough for me."

The world number one and last year's finalist starts his first group match on Sunday against Finals debutant Alex de Minaur (AUS) and will also face former US Open winner Daniil Medvedev (RUS) and this year's New York finalist Taylor Fritz. Both Sinner and the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz have each won two major tournaments this year and have thus finally taken over the guard. Olympic champion Novak Djokovic, the last of the "big three", has withdrawn despite having qualified for the Masters.

New era
For the first time in 23 years, neither the long-retired Roger Federer, almost-"retired" Rafael Nadal nor Djokovic will be at the showdown. "It feels different," said German co-favorite Alexander Zverev.

The Paris-Bercy winner can meet Sinner in the semi-finals at the earliest, while he has the world number three Alcaraz in his group. "They've both won two Grand Slams this year. They are definitely the two best players in the world. You have to beat them to win the tournament," said Zverev. He starts on Monday against the Russian Andrei Rublev, followed by Alcaraz and Casper Ruud (NOR).