Sinner turns home roar into finals repeat
In Turin's charged arena, Jannik Sinner channeled a season of shared supremacy and personal pressure into a gripping defense of his Nitto ATP Finals crown, outdueling Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets to cap 2025 with Italian fire.
Under the pulsing lights of the Inalpi Arena, Jannik Sinner transformed the weight of a dominant yet draining year into unflinching focus, securing a 7-6(4), 7-5 victory over Carlos Alcaraz to defend his Jannik Sinner title at the Nitto ATP Finals. The 24-year-old Italian leaned on the raucous backing of his home crowd, blending baseline ferocity with moments of artistry to extend a rivalry that has defined the tour. Alcaraz, the Carlos Alcaraz world No. 1, arrived locked in after a flawless round-robin, but Sinner's indoor mastery tipped the scales in a match that crackled from the first strike.
Baseline duel ignites under pressure
The opening set hummed with high-stakes intensity as both players traded heavy groundstrokes on the swift surface, Sinner's flat drives pinning Alcaraz deep while the Spaniard countered with angled returns. At 2-2 on 40/40, Alcaraz lasered a backhand down the line that clipped the paint to escape danger, but Sinner fired back in the next game with a backhand winner whipped off his shins crosscourt, sparking chants of 'Ole, Ole' that rippled through the arena. Holding for 5-4, Sinner watched Alcaraz take a medical timeout for his taped upper right leg, yet the Italian's rhythm held firm, his inside-out forehands stretching the court wide.
Alcaraz pushed to set point at 5-6 with a forehand drop shot into a punched volley winner, testing Sinner's resolve, but the Italian erased it with a 117 mph second serve into the body, followed by a 105 mph forehand winner crosscourt and a serve out wide to force the tie-break. There, Sinner unleashed two dazzling lobs that arched over Alcaraz's stretch, lifting the crowd's energy before converting his first set point with precise placement. The set's tension mirrored their season's arc, where the pair claimed 13 titles and all four majors between them, each victory fueling the other's fire.
"We are individual athletes but without my team, this is not possible. Celebrating this trophy at the end of the year after such an intense last couple of months, there is no better ending," Sinner said, hugging his team courtside following victory. "It was a very, very close match. I saved a set point in the first set and I am extremely happy with how I handled the situation and it means the world to me."
Break points test mental fortitude
The second set swung early when Alcaraz broke Sinner's serve at 2-3, capitalizing on two double faults that hung short in the quick air, marking the first breach of the Italian's service all week. Sinner steadied with a slice of fortune, framing a return on break point that dropped in before sealing the hold with a dropshot that died on the surface, leveling at 3-3 amid swelling crowd support. He ramped up aggression from there, landing more first serves to set up one-two combinations with down-the-line forehands, absorbing Alcaraz's variety—including slices and angles—with poise honed from indoor sweeps.
This resilience extended Sinner's indoor winning streak to 31 matches, unbroken since a final loss to Novak Djokovic two years earlier in Turin, where titles in Rotterdam, Vienna, Paris, and two Davis Cups for Italy had built his affinity for enclosed hard courts. The break back at 5-5 came via a forehand winner inside-in, echoing the psychological edge Sinner carried from his Wimbledon triumph over Alcaraz earlier in the year, a riposte to the Spaniard's US Open final win in September. Alcaraz's movement remained sharp despite the leg issue, his returns disrupting patterns, but Sinner's serve varied placement to the body and wide, turning defense into offense.
Closing out the two-hour, 15-minute battle with a final break at 6-5, Sinner joined John McEnroe and Boris Becker as one of only three men to claim multiple Nitto ATP Finals titles on home soil, his 10-0 record over the past two appearances—including a perfect 5-0 this week without dropping a set—cementing his legacy. Departing with a record $5,071,000 payout, he boasts the event's highest win percentage at 88.2 percent, surpassing Ilie Nastase.
Rivalry's echo promises more battles
Though trailing 6-10 in their head-to-head, Sinner's Turin and Wimbledon victories signal the era's core rivalry, where indoor speeds favor his flat trajectory over Alcaraz's spin-heavy game on higher-bouncing surfaces. As the ninth man to win consecutive year-end titles, he aligns with this century's elite: Lleyton Hewitt (2001-02), Roger Federer (2003-04, 2006-07, 2010-11), and Djokovic (2012-15, 2022-23). Alcaraz, gracious in securing year-end No. 1 honors on Thursday, highlighted his opponent's consistency during the trophy ceremony.
“I am really happy with the level I played today,” Alcaraz said. “He is someone who has not lost a match on an indoor court for two years now, so that means how great a player you are. Putting in great work with your team every time. You come back even stronger after every loss, you don’t have many. A well-deserved final.”
Sinner reflected on the serve's crucial role against elite returners like Alcaraz and Djokovic, his composure under the arena's cauldron-like energy underscoring a season's mental blueprint.
"It was tough today," Sinner added. "Playing against Carlos, you have to play at your best. I was serving very well at times but he is one of the best returners in the game. Obviously Novak is in there. But I am very happy. It was a tough match but it means a lot to me ending the season like this. It is amazing."
Heading into the off-season, Sinner carries this momentum, the Turin triumph not just a close to 2025 but a tactical foundation for the surfaces and showdowns that will shape the next chapter of his rivalry with Alcaraz.
