ATP Finals: Jannik Sinner beats Alex de Minaur to reach Turin final as Carlos Alcaraz looks to join him

Defending champion Jannik Sinner will try to sign off in style in his last outing of the season after overcoming Alex de Minaur to reach the ATP Finals title match, where he could face Carlos Alcaraz.

In a match of contrasting sets, the Italian world number two was frustrated by a battling performance from De Minaur during a 66-minute opener but blew away the Australian in the second to win 7-5 6-2 and reach his third consecutive final in Turin.

Sinner, who extended his unbeaten run on indoor hard courts to 30 matches, has not dropped a set at the end-of-season showpiece since losing to Novak Djokovic in the 2023 final.

Such has been his form, he has yet to drop a service game at this year's tournament.

He will face either year-end number one Alcaraz or Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime in Sunday's final as he bids to become only the fourth player to defend the men's singles title this century, after Lleyton Hewitt, Roger Federer and Djokovic.

"I'm very happy. This is the last event of the year, so it's great to finish this way," Sinner said.

"It was a very tough match, especially the beginning of the first set. He was serving great. In the second, I tried to be aggressive which worked well.

"Tomorrow, I will enjoy [it] and try my best. It's been an amazing week."

The "amazing week" for Sinner comes at the end of a rollercoaster year.

On court, the 24-year-old has enjoyed his second-best season to date in terms of titles, winning five tournaments including a successful Australian Open defence and a maiden Wimbledon crown.

Such performances have come against a background of the three-month doping ban which he accepted in February following two positive drug tests in 2024.

It was accepted that Sinner did not intend to cheat, but the short ban led to a backlash from some fellow players.

In front of a home crowd on Saturday, there were only cheers as he produced yet another relentless display of serving.

After staving off three break points in a rust opening service game, Sinner only conceded a further four points on serve in the first set.

However, he was forced to work for his breakthrough against a resilient De Minaur, who produced a number of big first serves and several moments of inspired scrambled defence on the baseline which earned the applause of the largely partisan Italian crowd.

Such gutsy tennis helped De Minaur escape unscathed from four service games that went to deuce.

The Australian's resistance was eventually broken in the 11th game – Sinner converting his eighth break point of the match – and from there, the home favourite put on an exhibition.

A run of seven consecutive games saw him clinch the first set and race into a 4-0 lead in the next, before converting his second match point to close out the win.

Sinner has surprisingly chosen not to play for Italy in next week's Davis Cup Finals, so this event marks his big chance to end 2025 on a high.

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