The Italian Tennis Federation (FITP) and the governing body of men’s tennis recently declared that the ATP Finals will continue to be held in Italy until 2030. This decision came after Turin had a good run of events. Turin was originally supposed to host the season-ending tournament until 2025.
Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP’s chairman, stated: “The ATP Finals has firmly established its legacy in Italy as a premier global sporting event… Together with FITP, we aim to continue enhancing the experience for players and fans.”
This season’s competition attracted over 183,000 spectators, with all 15 sessions of the eight-day event sold out due to the participation of Italy’s home favourite, world number one Jannik Sinner. Sinner defeated American Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 in the final round, becoming the first Italian to win the tournament.
The prize fund for the event grew to an all-time high of $15.25 million.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) recently announced that the Davis Cup Final 8 stage will take place in Italy from 2025 to 2027, with Bologna hosting the event the next season.
The city of Malaga, located in southern Spain, hosted the last three Davis Cup Finals.
Italy last hosted the tournament’s final back in 1998, when they came second to Sweden.
ITF President David Haggerty said: “We are delighted to partner with the FITP (Italian Tennis Federation) for the Davis Cup Final 8… Italy has a rich history in tennis and a proven ability to host world-class sporting events.”
Italy has won the Davis Cup three times, first taking home the trophy back in 1976. Subsequrntly, World No. 1 Jannik Sinner led Italy to consecutive victories in 2023 and 2024.
It is reported that Italy will also stage the season-ending ATP Finals until 2030.
“The FITP will build on Italy’s heritage in this competition, working closely with the ITF to deliver a spectacular event for the fans, as well as build an even greater future for tennis’ great global team asset,” FITP President Angelo Binaghi declared.
After missing the Italian Open in Rome this season due to a hip injury, world number one Jannik Sinner stated that the ATP Finals will now hold a greater significance for him because it will allow him to play in his native country.
With this, the athlete admitted: “Many things make (this tournament) special…First of all, being an Italian and playing in Italy. I haven’t played in Italy this year, because I missed Rome. That was a really tough one, but I am even more excited and happy to be here.”
He added: “The atmosphere is just amazing… I’m just happy to be back here and hopefully I can show some good tennis.”
From November 10-17, 2024, the Inalpi Arena in Turin will host the ATP Finals, which will include the top eight singles players and doubles teams across the world.
Sinner will play against Alex de Minaur to start his ATP finals campaign before battling former U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev and American Taylor Fritz.
Sinner declared about his opponents: “(De Minaur) is a very solid, very fast mover (with) a great mentality. You have to win every point somehow. He is not going to give it to you, so you have to go for it.”
“(Medvedev) is changing his game style a little bit so he’s even more dangerous to play. He has been one of my key points in evolving myself as a player, because I struggled a lot to beat him. Now, every match is quite open, you never know what’s going to happen…. Taylor Fritz, I might know slightly less, because we haven’t had so many encounters yet. But he is an amazing server, hitting the ball very strong. He has improved a lot in the last two years, starting with the serve and returning very well,” he added.
Sinner could face his rival and four-times Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz in the knockout stage if they both make it through the group matches.
World No. 1 and home favourite Jannik Sinner defeated American Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 at Turin to become the first Italian to win the ATP Finals title.
After losing to Novak Djokovic in the previous season’s final round, Sinner did not make a mistake this time around to earn the $4,881,500 prize money, finishing the match without dropping a set.
In a social media post, Sinner expressed his gratitude by stating: “Grazie Torino!!!! 🏆💪🏻💪🏻💚🤍❤️”
The 23-year-old Sinner took a 4-3 lead in the finals after breaking Fritz’s serve with a stunning drop shot. He then scored the first ace of the match.
Moreover, after sending a forehand long in the second set, Fritz– the first American to make it to the finals since James Blake in 2006– also dropped serve, allowing Sinner to win the match in 85 minutes.
After his victory, Sinner said: “It’s amazing. Just an amazing week. For me, it’s a first title in Italy, so it means so much to me. I’m very happy about that, it’s very special.”
He added: “I just try to understand what works best for each opponent, try to play the best tennis possible. That was the key, I played a high-level tournament from my side. At times I couldn’t play better, so I’m very happy.”
Sinner, who faced doping allegations this season, is the first player to win the ATP Finals without losing a set since Ivan Lendl in 1986. This is also his 70th victory of the year.
Fritz will place fourth in the rankings for the first time in his career despite his loss. The athlete declared: “I just want to say congrats to Jannik and his team. Insane year, honestly. It’s really impressive… Thank you to my team and putting up with me. It’s been a great week for me. I felt the love all week long.”
The conclusion of the ATP’s 2023 season is finally coming to an end, culminating in the Nitto ATP Final in Turin, Italy, where spectators will witness the top eight players in singles and doubles clash on court.
And, this week, the ATP finally revealed who booked the seventh and eighth spots in the much-awaited Nitto ATP Finals: German player Alexander Zverev and Danish player Holger Rune. And with the final line-up finally complete, fans are excited to see them huddled up together in one of the most prestigious events of the year.
Currently, Djokovic holds the record for most ATP championship victories, having won six in 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2022. With two titles from 2018 and 2021, Alexander Zverev comes in second, followed by Stefanos Tsitsipas (2019), and Daniil Medvedev (2020), who each have one.
As for Andrey Rublev, this is now his fourth straight year appearing in the Nitro ATP finals, and he hopes to improve on his impressive run last year, where he reached the semi-finals for the first time.
Jannik Sinner, on the other hand, has participated in the ATP Finals as an alternate in 2021, but this is his first time qualifying for the championship match. Sinner appeared at ease on the main stage during his alternate competition in Turin two years prior. After defeating Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets, the Italian forced Daniil Medvedev to a tie-break in the final set.
Lastly, the youngest pair in the eight-person field, Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune, will be making their ATP finals debuts at the age of 20.
ATP Chairman congratulates qualifiers
Andrea Gaudenzi, the ATP Chairman, offered his congratulations to the players via the ATP tour’s official website:
“Congratulations to all the players that have qualified for the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals. It’s a reflection of a truly impressive season. This is a unique tournament, featuring only the best of the best, with so much on the line for players. The stage is now set for an incredible final showdown in Turin.”
Fans’ reactions
After the eight qualifiers were announced in Relevant Tennis’s X account, tennis enthusiasts expressed their delight in seeing a unique set of players this year.
One fan noted, “It is like the “Big Three” of the NextGen group (Tsitsipas, Zverev & Medvedev) and what I call the Y2K Group (Rune, Sinner & Alcaraz) — Thien in exchange to Rublev (who I still like but it isn’t as decorated) would’ve been insane but we know the form he is now.”
While another noted that it was, in her words, the “Perfect lineup 😍🙌💪.”
“Gonna be a brilliant tournament, looking forward to some potential matchups,” said another X user, who agreed that the finals will be amazing.
The 2023 edition of the Nitto ATP Finals is scheduled to take place from November 12-19, 2022, at the Pala Alpitour in Turin.
This year, Team Italy defeated both the Netherlands and Serbia to pave a smooth route to the Davis Cup finals, their first in 25 years.
Their last appearance in the finals on December 4-6, 1998, saw them lose against Sweden with a record of 1-4 in front of a home crowd in Forum, Milan, Italy. Their only win at that time came from Diego Nargiso, who defeated Sweden’s Margus Norman.
Cut to 2023, and Italy now has the chance to rewrite that history.
Five outstanding players make up Italy’s roster this year: Lorenzo Sonego, Matteo Arnaldi, Lorenzo Musetti, Simone Bolelli, and, of course, the 22-year-old Italian sensation Jannik Sinner.
And they are set to face the runner-up team from last year, Australia, in the finals. The two nations have already faced each other 12 times in the prestigious World Cup, with Australia having triumphed in three of their final bouts.
Now, the fans are waiting to see if the Italians can reverse the situation this time.
Italy’s lone win in Davis Cup
According to a piece published by the Davis Cup, Italy has only ever won once in the Davis Cup, which dates back to 1976. Corrado Barazutti, Adriano Panatta, and Paolo Bertolucci were the key players who helped Italy beat Chile. 4-1.
Semi-finals against Serbia
There was a lot of apprehension regarding Italy’s matchup against the Serbian team, since it was led by the 24-grand slam champion and 7-time ATP champion, Novak Djokovic.
Their first match saw Italy lose against Serbia. Kecmanovic had defeated Italy’s Musetti 6-7 (7) 6-2 6-1.
However, Sinner, who was fuelled by the support of his country, went on to win the second match against Djokovic.The Italian managed to come back from a near loss in the third set, 4-5 at 0-40, saved three consecutive match points, and ultimately broke Djokovic’s play.
In the pivotal doubles match, Sinner teamed up with Sonego to beat Djokovic and Kecmanovic 6-3, 6-4, to take Italy to its first Finals appearance in the Davis Cup since 1998.“I’m just very happy for all of us, for the team, and tomorrow we have a great opportunity,” said Sinner. “ It’s the first time that we can play a final in Davis Cup, which means a lot for us.”
