Turin, Nov 14: The soccer-like “Ole” chants. The vast array of fans dressed in his theme color of orange. The banners and signs — one of which declared, “Sinner for president.”Late in the second set of his victory over Taylor Fritz at the ATP Finals on Tuesday, Jannik Sinner used all the adulation in his home country to his advantage.
When the top-ranked player produced a backhand passing shot up the line while on the run, he held his finger up to his ear to encourage the crowd to cheer louder.
“I read a little bit where he was playing and I just tried to pass him somehow because if not, it would have been a very easy volley for him,” Sinner said. “The crowd is helping me a lot. This is a very special occasion for me.
Sinner leads the group while Fritz and Medvedev are next with one win each.
De Minaur, who is making his debut at finals, lost both of his opening matches.
The top two finishers from each round-robin group advance to the semifinals.
On Thursday, Medvedev faces Sinner and De Minaur plays Fritz in the final matches of the group.
In the other group on Monday, Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud beat Andrey Rublev and Carlos Alcaraz, respectively.
Sinner is playing at home for the first time since it was announced before his U.S. Open title that he tested positive in two separate drug tests this year.
A decision to clear Sinner of wrongdoing was appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency in September. A final ruling in the case is expected early next year.
Medvedev had to block the noise’ after temper tantrum
When his match was over, Medvedev closed his eyes and held his fingers to his ears. Then he wrote on a camera lens, “Block the noise.”