Trump has begun another trade war. Here's a timeline of how we got here
Canada's leader laments lost friendship with US in town that sheltered stranded Americans after 9/11
Chinese EV giant BYD's fourth-quarter profit leaps 73%
You're an American in another land? Prepare to talk about the why and how of Trump 2.0
Chalk talk: Star power, top teams and No. 5 seeds headline the women's March Madness Sweet 16
Purdue returns to Sweet 16 with 76-62 win over McNeese in March Madness
TURIN, Italy (AP) โ Top-ranked Jannik Sinner made it two wins in two matches before his home fans at the ATP Finals, beating Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 on Tuesday in a rematch of the U.S. Open final that the Italian also won in straight sets.
As the crowd chanted โOle, Ole, Ole; Sin-ner, Sin-ner,โ the local favorite gave them just what they came for by turning up his intensity when it mattered most.
Sinner survived a marathon service game midway through the first set then broke his American opponent with a huge forehand up the line on his first set point.
When Sinner produced a backhand passing shot up the line while on the run midway through the second set, he held his finger up to his ear to encourage the crowd to cheer louder.
โI read a little bit where he was playing and I just tried to pass him somehow because if not, it would have been a very easy volley for him,โ Sinner said. โThe crowd is helping me a lot. This is a very special occasion for me.โ
Sinner saved the only break point that he faced and nearly matched Fritz with six aces to the Americanโs seven.
Sinner, who beat Alex de Minaur in his opening match at the season-ending event for the top eight players, improved to 23-1 in his last five tournaments.
Earlier, Daniil Medvedev moved back into contention with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over De Minaur following a temper tantrum in his previous match.
Medvedev didnโt face a single break point and was generally much sharper than in his straight-set loss to Fritz on Sunday โ during which he smashed his racket and lost his cool twice.
Sinner leads the group while Fritz and Medvedev are next with one win each.
De Minaur, who is making his debut at finals, lost both of his opening matches.
The top two finishers from each round-robin group advance to the semifinals.
On Thursday, Medvedev faces Sinner and De Minaur plays Fritz in the final matches of the group.
In the other group on Monday, Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud beat Andrey Rublev and Carlos Alcaraz, respectively.
Sinner is playing at home for the first time since it was announced before his U.S. Open title that he tested positive in two separate drug tests this year.
A decision to clear Sinner of wrongdoing was appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency in September. A final ruling in the case is expected early next year.
Medvedev had to โblock the noiseโ after temper tantrum
When his match was over, Medvedev closed his eyes and held his fingers to his ears. Then he wrote on a camera lens, โBlock the noise.โ
โI went into this match also blocking the noise even from myself,โ Medvedev said. โNo like tantrums and stuff. Just block the noise. And I really didnโt care what was happening on the court. I just tried to play and it was a good feeling."
Medvedev won the finals in 2020 โ the last edition held in London.
โThe more popular you become, the more fans you get, the more haters you get, the more attention you get. And sometimes even the good noise can make you off balance,โ Medvedev said.
โYou know, you win everything and everyone thinks youโre a god. ... Then you lose two matches and everyone is like, โFinished, your career is finished.โ So sometimes itโs good just (to) block it,โ Medvedev added.
___
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
