Character, physique and, above all, an evening of grace in response. Jannik Sinner is in the final in Masters 1000 in Toronto surpassing the American Tommy Paul with the score of 6-4 6-4. The 21-year-old blue will now face the Australian Alex De Minaurgood at beating Spanish Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina. This is the fourth final of the season for the South Tyrolean and the third chance to bring home the first 1000 of his career (after the two missed opportunities, both at Miamiagainst Hubert Hurkacz e Daniil Medvedev respectively in 2021 and last March). Sinner will also go in search of his second title in 2023 (after the 250 of Montpellier) and eighth in his career. If successful, it would also rise to number 6 in the worldequaling the best ranking of Matthew Berrettini.
The one against Tommy Paul was a quality match of great intensity and tension. And the latter makes itself felt from the first minutes. A double fault, a forehand error, a backhand on the net and Paul immediately goes ahead by a break. However, it is only for a moment, because already in the following game Sinner restores parity. The balance holds up to 3-2, when the blue gets two break points by attacking in response and forcing the American to make a mistake. The extension also in this case does not last long. Jannik doesn’t flinch and in the tenth game, with three backhand returns, he breaks the American’s serve for the third time. This time, however, he also archives the first set. A swing that doesn’t stop even in the second set. The break conquered by Sinner at the beginning it looks a lot like that of the definitive shoulder but Paul doesn’t want to know, raises the level and gets himself a series of opportunities to break the blue’s service (one of these saved at the end of an endless exchange from 46 counts). The good news for the American comes just when Sinner is called to close the match. The right of the world number 8 ends up in the net. The empty passage could start a new game and instead Sinner relies again on the best shot of his evening, the answer. Two consecutive match points are cancelled, but not the third. Paul’s right is out.
This victory for Sinner represents a lot. I am six hundred points which bring it decisively closer to the first declared goal of 2023, le Atp Finals of Turin. In fact, if we look at the Race we see how the South Tyrolean is fourth at 3,785 points, with an advantage of around 1,300 points over Taylor Fritz (ninth in the ranking and currently the first of the excluded). A quota that in past years has always meant reaching the last act of the season. In short, the only thing missing is the official status of Sinner’s presence in Turin and this could arrive over the next month, after the Us Open. But before thinking about Turin and the New York Grand Slam, we need to complete the work in Canadato write a piece of history, personal and otherwise: the first title in a career Masters 1000 and the first on the cement for Italian tennis.
“It was a privilege to play on such an important field against such a strong opponent – Sinner declared immediately after the match – I am satisfied with how I reacted to every break suffered, especially when I served for the match. I’m happy in general for the game I played: feeling the pressure is a privilege”.