ATP Finals: Sinner Beats Rune to top green group, puts himself and Djokovic in the semi-finals 

Jannik Sinner defeated Holger Rune 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 to complete a perfect round-robin stage at the prestigious season finale on Thursday night in Turin.

The home favorite did this while also guaranteeing that six-time champion and top-ranked player Novak Djokovic advanced to the semifinals with him.

The 22-year-old player and World No.4, who became champion in Montpellier, Beijing, Toronto and Vienna this season, is the first Italian to advance to the singles semi-finals in the 54-year history of the Nitto ATP Finals.

“It means for sure more doing it here in Italy, in Turin, a special place, special tournament,” said Sinner of earning his milestone 60th win the most for an Italian man in the Open Era.

“I’m very happy that I have the chance to have at least two more matches. Hopefully I can finish the year in a good way. I think it’s going in the right direction, and let’s see what’s coming”.

Sinner’s valiant third performance of the week inside the Pala Alpitour complemented his first victories against Stefanos Tsitsipas and Djokovic. He converted two of his four earned break points to register a two-hour, 33-minute victory in a match that swung back and forth.

“For me it was really important, resetting after the good win against Novak,” said Sinner. “I never won against [Rune], so I really tried my best. I started off really well. In the second, he served better, he moved better, so it was a much more even match. The third set could have gone his way. At 4-3 I saved a break point. It was a little bit of a roller coaster today, but obviously really happy and happy to be in the semis.”

Sinner, who is currently 60-14 for the 2023 campaign, is just two games away from becoming the first person to win five tour-level events in a single year.