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.

U.S. Open finalist Taylor Fritz frustrated Daniil Medvedev to the point that that the Russian broke his racket and was docked a point in a 6-4, 6-3 victory for the American in the opening match of the ATP Finals.

On September 30, 2024, Medvedev won his most recent match, 6-2, 6-4, over Flavio Cobolli in the quarterfinals of the China Open. During the past two years, Sinner is 6-3 against Medvedev in their head-to-head matchups. Their last one happened at the US Open on September 4, 2024 and was won by Sinner 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4.