The Ancestral Gallery is a central element of the Inalpi Arena in Turin during the ATP Finals. It’s hard to miss the big protagonists of tennis throughout the week; Ivan Lendl, Boris Becker, Roger Federer, John McEnroe, flicker across the big screens at every opportunity. It may not be one of the four Grand Slams, but the year-end tournament is characterized by the fact that only players who have already reached the heights of their sport compete – and who are looking for the best of the year.
Jannik Sinner is now the newest member of this series of great figures in tennis history, and he truly earned his place there on Sunday evening: With 6:4 and 6:4 he also defeated the American Taylor Fritz in the final, to finish off an impressive week: he remained without losing a set against his competitors, something Lendl himself last achieved at the final tournament in 1986. The dominance that Sinner is currently exuding on the pitch was actually reminiscent of the Czech native’s very best times. Opponent Fritz, for example, said: “He is not only number one in the world, he also plays at this extremely high level.”
:Sinner can’t get rid of his doping case
The World Anti-Doping Agency is appealing against the acquittal of the world number one and is calling for a ban of one to two years. The Italian reacts “disappointed and surprised”.
The Italian seems to be a bit ahead of the competition at the moment, and certainly not just in terms of world ranking points. That is the impression that remains from Turin. World number six Casper Ruud from Norway, for example, seemed at times in the semi-finals like a first-round opponent at a small tournament on a Monday morning. As friendly and reserved as Sinner appears in interviews, he is just as ice-cold on the court, especially with two victories at the hard-court Grand Slams in Melbourne and New York behind him.
The German double winners are also enthusiastic about the atmosphere in Turin
Tennis is “unpredictable,” Sinner said on Sunday evening. For him, this currently applies less on the pitch and more in relation to the upcoming hearing before the World Anti-Doping Agency Wada. Although it is still not exactly timed, a possible doping ban could currently make Sinner’s status as number one more dangerous than all of his competitors. And of course, whether he will still be one of the great figures in his sport one day in the future will depend largely on a final judgment from WADA. Sinner tested positive twice for the banned anabolic steroid Clostebol last March and was later acquitted by an independent arbitration tribunal. He was believed to have caused the contamination by his physiotherapist at the time.
In Italy, Sinner will be flickering across all screens for the time being, probably even until 2030 – because in the middle of the award ceremony, ATP boss Andrea Gaudenzi announced to the home audience that the final tournament will take place in Italy until 2030. Turin will remain the venue next year, after which there could be a move to Milan. In any case, the competitors from Saudi Arabia were not awarded the contract. Given the impression of the past eight days, this was understandable. 183,000 tickets were sold over the course of the week, all tournament days were completely sold out, something that would be hard to imagine in the desert state.
The northern Italians also offer an impressive atmosphere, and not just for their hero Sinner. The second-placed Fritz was also greeted with extensive chants, and the Germans Kevin Krawietz and Tim Pütz also praised the audience and the city highly after their double victory on Sunday afternoon. Turin is one of the “best tournaments of the year” for the players. They find themselves in the middle of a tennis boom from which other tournaments will also benefit. The organizers of the BMW Open in Munich, for example, which will be held as a tournament in the 500 category for the first time next spring, immediately seized the opportunity: In addition to Alexander Zverev and Fritz, Jannik Sinner has now also been announced for the MTTC Iphitos in April.