THE race towards next month’s Nitto ATP Finals has ramped up with the conclusion of two tournaments that saw two superstars bring out explosive performances to take out title wins. It was a day to remember at the office for top-seeded players as Italian powerhouse Jannik Sinner surged through his match at the European Open to win his fifth title of the year. Meanwhile Aslan Karatsev overpowered a two-time Moscow winner at the VTB Kremlin Cup to become the tenth Russian to win in the tournament’s history.

Twenty-year-old Sinner continued his run of title wins over the weekend after a stellar performance against Argentinian Diego Schwartzman. In the pair’s first meeting, the top-seeded Italian did not drop a set as he toppled Schwartzman to secure the win 6-2 6-2.

“I felt great on court. I moved well. Today I also served better, I think. I felt great, but in tennis everyday is different. You have to be careful. I think I played well the whole tournament, to be honest, from the first point to the last point,” Sinner said post-match.

“I like to play indoors. I tried to push the ball [through the court], which for me was important against Diego because he is moving very well. He’s not missing so many shots. For me it was important trying to adapt the game somehow against him.”

Sinner’s aggressive serves caused Schwartzman to unravel, the Argentinian unable to keep up with Sinner’s fiery form – resulting in Schwartzman failing to claim a second ATP Tour title for this season. The Italian scored a whopping eight aces along with winning 52 per cent of his first-serve points. He also saved the two break points he faced to help him to cruise through the end of the match and bag the win, doing so in one hour and 16 minutes.

Karatsev was victorious in Moscow 6-2 6-4 and delivered an impressive performance that saw Croatian Marin Cilic fall at the final hurdle. Karatsev, who previously was unsuccessful in his last meeting with the Croatian at the Cincinnati Masters this year, immediately took control of the game to avenge the defeat.

In the first game, the Russian broke Cilic, not facing a breakpoint and dropped only one point behind his first delivery to move ahead. Karatsev continue through to the second with full steam ahead and broke again in the seventh game of the set to deny Cilic the chance for victory.

“It is a tournament where I have played in qualifying at and now, I am winning the tournament. Thank you for all of your support. It was a very nervous final game, I hit a double fault and then on break point there was that long rally, but I managed to win it in the end,” Karatsev said post-match.

Karatsev put on a show in his second tour-level title win. He managed an impressive 92 per cent of his first-serve points in the one hour and 16 minutes that the match endured. Karatsev also produced a serve rating of 319 in comparison to Cilic’s serve rating of 248.

VTB KREMLIN CUP FINAL RESULTS:

[2] Aslan Karatsev (RUS) defeated [6] Marin Cilic (CRO) 6-2 6-4

EUROPEAN OPEN FINAL RESULTS:

[1] Jannik Sinner (ITA) defeated [2] Diego Schwartzman (ARG) 6-2 6-2

~

Picture credit: ATP Tour

~