ATP ROTTERDAM – Jannik Sinner (22) made a successful comeback in the finals of the ATP 500 indoor competition in Rotterdam and, after winning the Australian Open, won his second tournament in 2024. The Italian tennis player won his 12th overall title after winning 7:5, 6:4 over the Australian Alex de Minaur (25), with whom he also won the sixth mutual match, maintained this year’s invincibility and secured his first move to the top three in the world.
Sinner – De Minaur 7:5, 6:4
Jannik Sinner achieved several milestones last year and definitely established himself among the world’s elite. He celebrated his first titles from the Masters 1000 tournaments, in Wimbledon he played in the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time and at the end of the season he won two scalps of Novak Djokovic. The first helped him advance to the final of the Tournament of Champions and the second led Italy to triumph in the Davis Cup.
Before the 2024 season, he thus ranked among the main aspirants for major triumphs and fulfilled the forecasts at the very first event. At the Australian Open, he became the first Italian champion after coming from 0:2 down to sets against Daniil Medvedev.
Then, compared to the original plans, he ordered a week longer break and missed the tournament in Marseille, but he did not lose his form from Melbourne. At the indoor 500 in Rotterdam, he presented himself as a Grand Slam champion for the first time in his career and confirmed his role as the favorite in all five matches.
Sinner becomes Rotterdam Royalty @janniksin defeats De Minaur 7-5 6-4 to extend his winning streak to 15 and clinch the #abnamroopen title! pic.twitter.com/ZKRF6RiVCv
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 18, 2024
The twenty-two-year-old Italian lost the only set in the second round against the French veteran Gaël Monfils. In Sunday’s final, he dealt with world number one Alex de Minaur and successfully made amends for the failure from last year, when he lost to Medvedev in the fight for the title.
Sinner fought hard for a two-set victory against a favorite opponent. In both sets, he did not maintain the advantage of the break, in the opening set even at 5:4, he did not use four set points on his serve. But he managed the key moments better, after more than two hours of fighting he won 7:5, 6:4 and increased the lead in the head-to-head balance to 6:0.
Statistics of the match Jannik Sinner – Alex der Minaur (@ Livesport)
“It was a very tough match. Alex will definitely get another title soon if he continues to perform like he did here in Rotterdam.” said Sinner during the ceremony, who won his 12th game this year and extended his unbeaten streak to 15 games.
In the overall 16th final, Sinner won his 12th title, which ensured his move to a new career high in the world rankings. On Monday, he will climb to 3rd place ahead of Medvedev and behind Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, to whom he will lose 1585 points.
De Minaur played his 15th final the day after his 25th birthday, and although he did not reach the eighth title, he will become world number nine and improve his best ranking by one place.
While Sinner is not expected to make his reappearance until March’s Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami, De Minaur will defend next week’s final in Los Cabos, Mexico.
Results of the ATP 500 tournament in Rotterdam
Article originally published for Livesport News.
