"For me, was very important to get emotions away from Novak Djokovic's win" - Jannik Sinner after gifting Serb a second chance at ATP Finals

Jannik Sinner shared his thoughts on his 2023 ATP Finals victory over Holger Rune on Thursday, November 16, which gifted Novak Djokovic a new life at the event.

The Italian had won both his previous encounters against Stefanos Tsitsipas (6-4, 6-4) and Novak Djokovic (7-5, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (1)). He also sealed a semi-final spot when Djokovic failed to close out his match against Hubert Hurkacz (Tsitsipas’ replacement) in straight sets.

Sinner’s advancement to the final four meant that the Serb's knockout chances were riding on the outcome of the former’s match against Rune. Had the Dane won, Djokovic would have crashed out of the ATP Finals.

However, despite having almost nothing to gain from the match, Jannik Sinner put on a stellar performance to crush Rune in three sets 6-2, 5-7, 6-4. He thus secured his maiden win against his young rival after two previous defeats and granted Djokovic a second bite at the cherry in the process.

“Obviously, happy how I dug deep today. I had to,” Sinner said in a post-match interview with Tennis Channel.

The World No. 4 noted that he was focused on sparing no effort, and did not dwell on his win over Novak Djokovic.

“And you know, for me mentally, today was very important to play a really high-level match, get the emotions away from Novak’s win and getting on the court, trying my best,” the Canadian Open champion said.

“And you know, I’ve done that today. I’m really happy with how I handled the situation, the moment. I tried to stay there, which I’ve done,” he added.

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Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic's semifinals opponents at 2023 ATP Finals yet to be decided

The Serb and the Italian at the 2023 ATP Finals

Following his victory over Holger Rune, Jannik Sinner emerged as the winner of the ATP Finals’ Green Group, with defending champion Novak Djokovic taking the second spot.

The duo now awaits their semifinal opponents, which will be determined after the Red Group’s final round-robin matches on Friday, November 17, where Carlos Alcaraz will take on Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev will face Andrey Rublev.

As it stands, Medvedev has booked his place in the final four and Rublev is out of contention. Thus, Friday’s encounters will be crucial for Alcaraz and Zverev as they battle for the final remaining spot in the knockouts.

If Zverev loses his match against Rublev, Carlos Alcaraz will advance to the semifinals regardless of the outcome of his match against the 2021 US Open champion. The German’s only chance of making the cut is if wins his match, and Alcaraz loses his.