Jannik Sinner continued his dominance on indoor hard courts on Wednesday, defeating third seed Alexander Zverev at the ATP Finals.
Sinner, who has now won 28 consecutive indoor hard-court matches, put on a show once again at the Inalpi Arena in Turin, defeating Zverev 6-4, 6-3.
Sinner has now defeated Zverev five times consecutively. Zverev’s last win against the Italian came at the 2023 US Open.
The Italian, who defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime in his ATP Finals opener, has now qualified for the semi-finals for a third consecutive year.
And by doing so, he has forced himself into a conversation with the likes of Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka.
Jannik Sinner has made the semi-final stage at three consecutive ATP Finals events
Jannik Sinner first qualified for the semi-finals of the ATP Finals in 2023 – he went on to reach the final, before losing to Novak Djokovic.
In 2024, the Italian went one step further, winning the ATP Finals title for the first time.
This year, the Italian has made even more ATP Finals history.
As per OptaAce, since 2000, Jannik Sinner has become the fourth player to reach three or more consecutive semi-finals at the ATP Finals after Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka.
Federer reached the semi-final stage at six consecutive tournaments between 2002 and 2007, winning the title four times during this period.
Later in his career, the Swiss maestro made seven consecutive semi-final appearances between 2009 and 2015. He made another three consecutive semi-final appearances between 2017 and 2019.
Novak Djokovic made five consecutive semi-final appearances between 2012 and 2016. Djokovic won four consecutive ATP Finals titles during this period, and was stopped by Andy Murray when attempting to win his fifth consecutive title in 2016.
Djokovic later achieved the feat again, reaching the semi-final stage on four consecutive occasions between 2020 and 2023.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka qualified for three consecutive semi-finals at ATP Finals events, between 2013 and 2015.
Wawrinka, 40, is still competing on the ATP Tour, and recently came close to stunning Lorenzo Musetti at the Athens Open.
Sinner’s superb serve
Jannik Sinner has transformed his serve since struggling with the shot during his US Open final loss to Carlos Alcaraz.
Against Zverev on Wednesday, Sinner made 71 per cent of his first serves, winning 83 per cent of those points.
As per Sofascore, the Italian also served 12 aces and saved all seven of Zverev’s break-point opportunities.
It is worth noting that Zverev also performed well on his first serve, making 83 per cent of his first serves and winning 72 per cent of those points.
