Alcaraz nearly ended this stat—the Spaniard held a set point in the first set, with Sinner serving at 5-6, ad-out. But the Italian saved it, held, won the tie-break and then battled back from an early break down in the second set to win in straight sets.
He’s now won 20 sets in a row at the ATP Finals, the second-longest set streak in tournament history after Lendl’s 24 in a row between 1985 and 1987.
“Celebrating with this trophy at the end of the year, especially after such an intense last couple of months, there’s no better ending for me this season,” Sinner said after the match.
“It was a very, very tough and close match-up, with set point in the first set. I’m just happy how I handled the situation.”
Last year, Sinner was never even pushed past 6-4 in any set in Turin. This year, it happened several times—his 7-5, 6-1 and 6-3, 7-6 (3) wins over Felix Auger-Aliassime and Ben Shelton in the round-robin stage, his 7-5, 6-2 victory over Alex de Minaur in the semifinals, then the aforementoned final scoreline.
