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Jannik Sinner swatted aside Casper Ruud to set up a title decider with Taylor Fritz at the ATP Finals.
The world number one has been in a ruthless mood in front of his home fans in Turin and maintained his record of not having dropped a set with a 6-1 6-2 victory over sixth seed Ruud.
Sinner, who has won 25 of his last 26 matches, will now aim to go one better than last year, when he was beaten in the title decider by Novak Djokovic.
“It’s a very similar position as I was in last year,” said the two-time grand slam champion.
“Just I’ve grown in 12 months now as a player. Tomorrow is going to be a very interesting day in any case. I’m happy again to be in this position. It’s a very special occasion.”
Earlier, Fritz edged past Alexander Zverev to become the first American to reach the title match for nearly 20 years.
American players were regular champions in the first 30 years of the tournament’s history, but Pete Sampras in 1999 was the last to lift the trophy.
Not since James Blake in 2006 had an American reached the final, so Fritz’s 6-3 3-6 7-6 (3) victory was a landmark moment.
Second seed Zverev had cruised into the semi-finals, winning all his three group matches in straight sets, but he had lost three matches in a row to Fritz and the 27-year-old again came out on top.
It was nip and tuck until the final-set tie-break when three crucial errors from Zverev helped his rival gain the decisive advantage.
Fritz, who lost to Sinner in the group stage earlier this week and in the US Open final, is bidding for the biggest title of his career.
“This week is huge,” he said. “I beat three incredible players, have been playing great tennis.
“He (Sinner) played the big points better than I did in the group-stage match. It didn’t feel anywhere near as one-sided as the Open. He’s the best player in the world. He’s playing with a lot of confidence.”
Meanwhile, the only British player at the tournament, doubles specialist Henry Patten, saw his campaign come to an end in the semi-finals alongside Finn Harri Heliovaara.
The Wimbledon champions won all their group matches but were narrowly beaten 7-6 (1) 7-6 (4) by top seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic.
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