TURIN, Italy (AP) — Top-ranked Jannik Sinner became the first player to advance to the semifinals at the ATP Finals on Thursday.
Sinner was assured of a spot in the last four after U.S. Open finalist Taylor Fritz beat Alex de Minaur 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 in their group.
Sinner won his opening two matches and plays Daniil Medvedev later. Last year, Sinner lost the final to Novak Djokovic, who pulled out injured this year.
Fritz also has two wins and has a chance of advancing, while Medvedev is still in contention and could get to two wins by beating Sinner. De Minaur was mathematically eliminated without any wins in his finals debut.
The top two finishers in each group advance to the semifinals. The Sinner-Medvedev match will determine whether the other qualifier is Fritz or Medvedev.
“If I don’t get through it’s going to be tough because I did play two very good matches and lost to the best player in the world,” Fritz said of his defeat to Sinner. “But if that happens I’m happy with my week and I’ll leave with my head held high. But I’ll definitely be checking in on the score tonight.”
Alexander Zverev leads the other group ahead of Casper Ruud, Carlos Alcaraz and Andrey Rublev.
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