ATP Finals: Sinner Extends Undefeated Streak Indoors, Musetti Faces Opening Defeat

On November 10 local time, the ATP Finals concluded its second day of competition. Defending champion Sinner secured a straight-sets victory over Auger-Aliassime to start strong, while Fritz defeated Finals debutant Musetti in straight sets to earn his first group stage win.

In the singles Björn Borg group’s key match, home favorite and defending champion Sinner faced Auger-Aliassime for their fourth meeting since August (Cincinnati, US Open, Paris, Turin), including a recent final clash at the Paris Masters where Sinner triumphed. The Italian has won all four encounters, and in today’s early morning match, he prevailed 7-5, 6-1 after 1 hour and 40 minutes, improving his head-to-head record against Auger-Aliassime to 4-2.

Sinner

Throughout the entire match, Sinner never faced a break point. He has now extended his indoor winning streak to 27 matches and has not dropped a set at the ATP Finals since his 2023 final loss to Djokovic. The first set was closely contested, but Auger-Aliassime experienced discomfort in his left calf after serving at 5-6. Although he continued to play, his movement was clearly hindered, allowing Sinner to dominate the remainder and win in straight sets.

Post-match, Sinner said: "Until 6-5, it was a very tough match. I had some break opportunities, but his serve was excellent and he played very aggressive tennis, so I’m glad to have overcome such a challenging test today. Obviously, winning the first group match in the Finals format is very important, so I’m happy. I hope his injury isn’t too serious and wish him a speedy recovery, hoping he gets back to 100% fitness."

Auger-Aliassime downplayed concerns about his condition after the match: “I’m not too worried (about the injury). He’s a fantastic player. When your opponent plays better, you have to acknowledge it. He was better than me today, and I’ll prepare for the next match.”

Fritz

In a singles Jimmy Connors group match, home player Musetti made his Finals debut but was outplayed by Fritz, who won 6-3, 6-4 in 1 hour and 42 minutes. Fritz has a strong record at the ATP Finals, reaching the semifinals in his 2022 debut and the final last year. Fritz arrived in Turin a week ago to prepare, while Musetti only reached Turin on Sunday after losing the Athens final to Djokovic the previous Saturday night.

“Every time I come here, I really enjoy the court conditions; it’s easy to generate a lot of energy,” Fritz said. “You can fully focus here. This is the last event of the year and the ATP Finals, so it’s very important.”

Singles Group Stage Standings

After two days of play, all eight players have made their debuts. In the Jimmy Connors group, both Fritz and Alcaraz earned opening wins and will face each other tonight at 21:00 Beijing time. Alcaraz leads their head-to-head 4-1. Deminal and Musetti, who lost their opening matches, will meet at 3:30 AM Beijing time tomorrow, with Musetti holding a 3-1 advantage in their past meetings.

In the doubles John McEnroe group, second seeds Heliövaara/Padun defeated eighth seeds C. Harrison/Ivan King 6-4, 6-4, while fifth seeds Salisbury/Skupski overcame fourth seeds Arevalo/Pavic 6-3, 7-5.

Complete Schedule for November 11

(Text and editing by Wang Fei; images courtesy of Visual China)