(Tennis news) Rune was awarded a straight-sets victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas, who withdrew from the competition due to a back injury, while Sinner emerged victorious from a thrilling three-set match with Djokovic on Tuesday.

As he prepared to make his second appearance at the ATP Finals and his first as a direct qualifier, Sinner achieved maybe the most memorable win of his career on Tuesday night. He followed up a convincing victory over Tsitsipas with an incredible triumph against the reigning champion. 

With one last forehand smash at the net, Sinner defeated world number one Djokovic 7-5 6-7[5] 7-6[2] after three hours and nine minutes of thrilling round-robin play. This was just recompense for the Italian’s incredible all-around performance against his more prestigious opponent.

Being a skilled returner himself, Djokovic frequently joined the Turin audience in cheering for Sinner as he launched a variety of nasty cross-court strokes beyond his reach. The 22-year-old also benefited from many deft passing plays with Djokovic at the net, which helped him secure a dominant victory.

Sinner, who produced fifteen aces and thirty-seven winners on the day, is up to a perfect 2-0 record in the Green group standings thanks to his first-ever triumph over Djokovic. However, he still needs to sink Rune in order to guarantee his place in this year’s semifinals.

Sinner, who denied Djokovic a 20-match winning streak, is now one victory away from reaching 60 for the season. He also becomes one of only three players, along with Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal, to defeat Djokovic in a third-set tiebreaker before the player turns 23. Rune was unable to accomplish this feat on his debut at the ATP Finals.

On the first matchday, history would regrettably repeat itself for Rune versus Djokovic, as the Serbian had overcome his Scandinavian opponent in three sets at the Paris Masters quarterfinals, even though he had lost a second-set tiebreaker.
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