Jannik Sinner says what he’s noticed about Taylor Fritz’s serve at the ATP Finals after a practice session together

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Jannik Sinner began his ATP Finals in perfect fashion as the home favourite beat Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-4.

Sinner trained with Radek Stepanek before the ATP Finals, with the Italian looking to go one better than his runner-up spot last year.

He lost to Novak Djokovic in last year’s final, but is now the world’s top player in Turin, much to the delight of the supporters.

A reunion is, of course, off the cards this time around, with Djokovic having withdrawn from the ATP Finals with injury.

Sinner could, however, meet his new rival Carlos Alcaraz in the final, although he does need to make it out of a tough group first.

Jannik Sinner says what he’s noticed about Taylor Fritz’s serve

Along with De Minaur, Sinner will take on Taylor Fritz and Daniil Medvedev in his other group stage matches at the indoor hard-court event.

It is the American up next, with the Italian full of praise for his upcoming opponent, who beat Medvedev in their opener.

READ MORE: ATP Finals 2024: How to watch, prize money, dates, predictions and everything you need to know

“He has improved a lot in the past one and a half, two years,” Sinner said of Fritz, as quoted by the ATP website. “He’s serving much better [and] hitting the ball very, very hard. He’s a great competitor.

“I have to be at my top if I want to win or if I want to get close. I practised with him at the beginning of the week. It was a very tough practice set. It’s going to be tough, this I know. I know that I have to raise my level. Hopefully I can do that, then we see how it goes.”

What is Jannik Sinner and Taylor Fritz’s head-to-head record?

Sinner currently leads Fritz 2-1 in their ATP head-to-head, most recently beating him in the US Open final.

It represented a maiden Grand Slam final for the latter, but a second of the season for the former, who also won the Australian Open.

READ MORE: Who is Jannik Sinner? Everything you need to know about the Italian tennis star and his rise to the top

Both players, however, really impressed on their ATP Finals debuts, with Sinner losing last year’s final and Fritz reaching the semi-finals in 2022.

But there is history on the cards for Sinner this year, with the Italian able to become just the third player to win the Australian Open, US Open and ATP Finals in the same season.

Djokovic and fellow legend Roger Federer both achieved that feat, with the current world number one more than capable of following in their footsteps.