Jannik Sinner earned his place in his first-ever Paris Masters final by defeating Alexander Zverev in straight sets.
Sinner has been dealing with physical issues in Paris, but he toppled Zverev in straightforward fashion in Paris.
Zverev looked out of sorts, which allowed the World No. 2 to race to the finish line and confirm his place in the Paris Masters final against Felix Auger-Aliassime.
During the semi-final, Sinner achieved a feat that was last managed by Rafael Nadal over a decade ago.
Jannik Sinner matches Rafael Nadal feat at the Paris Masters
Sinner came out of the blocks fast against Zverev and won the first set without dropping a single game against the German.
His 6-0 win against Zverev was the first time an ATP 1000 semi-final featured that scoreline for over 12 years.
Nadal managed the feat at the Madrid Open in 2013, when he defeated wild card Pablo Andújar in straight sets.
Sinner is yet to drop a set at the Paris Masters, where he has managed to sideline Zizou Bergs, Francisco Cerundolo, and Ben Shelton.
The Italian is yet to look at his absolute best, and he didn’t need to get out of second gear to defeat Zverev in the semi-final.
Jannik Sinner’s thoughts on becoming World No. 1 before the end of 2025
Sinner has an outside chance of becoming World No. 1 before the end of the year, especially if he wins the Paris Masters, but his coach has confirmed he’s not interested in the feat this year.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Darren Cahill revealed that Sinner had ‘Zero’ intentions of becoming World No. 1 again this year.
“It’s been an interesting year. He’s the winner of two Grand Slam titles, the Wimbledon champion, so for us, it’s an incredible effort he’s been able to achieve,” he added.
“We have not spoken about it, we will not speak about it. I think he’s too far away to even consider it,” Cahill continued.
“All we’re considering at this moment is Alexander Zverev on the other side of the court and trying to beat the opponent today. His biggest challenge today is the big German standing on the other side of the court.”
Sinner lost his World No. 1 status by losing to Alcaraz in the US Open final in September.
