![](\"\/\/im.rediff.com\/cricket\/2023\/nov\/15sinner2.JPG?w=670&h=900\")
<\/p>\nNovak Djokovic’s winning streak was halted at 19 matches as home favourite Jannik Sinner was roared to a superb 7-5, 6-7(5), 7-6(2) victory by a partisan ATP Finals crowd in Turin on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The earlier Green Group clash was a non-event as Stefanos Tsitsipas retired injured against Holger Rune, but the evening ticket holders were treated to a match of jaw-dropping quality.<\/p>\n
After more than three hours of an absorbing toe-to-toe battle in which neither player took a backward step it was world number four Sinner who seized his chance in the deciding set tiebreak finally to crack Djokovic’s resistance.<\/p>\n
Sinner, 14 years Djokovic’s junior, wrapped up his first career win against the 24-time Grand Slam champion with a smash – prompting deafening roars from a sell-out crowd who produced an electrifying atmosphere throughout.<\/p>\n
He moves top of the group but is not yet guaranteed a semi-final spot ahead of his final round-robin match against Rune on Thursday when Djokovic, who will end the year as number one for a record-stretching eighth time, plays alternate Hubert Hurkacz.<\/p>\n
Sinner, Djokovic and Rune could all still end up with two wins each in a group that is too close to call.<\/p>\n
Sinner has enjoyed his best year on Tour and now has 59 match wins in 2023, but none would have given him more pleasure than taking down six-time ATP Finals champion Djokovic.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The Italian moved 2-0 ahead in the deciding tiebreak with a rocket of a forehand return and then gave himself daylight with another forehand winner to make it 3-0.<\/p>\n
Once he moved 5-0 ahead not even Djokovic’s powers of recovery could spare the Serb his first loss since defeat by Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final.<\/p>\n
“It’s a sort of process, I feel that I’m more confident in certain moments,” Sinner told Amazon Prime.<\/em><\/p>\n “In the second set tiebreak he played a bit better than me but I think I was brave in the big moments. We were both serving very well, I think we both played really, really well.”<\/p>\n Reigning champion Djokovic did not do much wrong as he battled Sinner and the crowd – regularly jesting with the fans who jeered him throughout the duel.<\/p>\n Sinner made his move at 5-5 in the opening set as Djokovic briefly lost focus after leading 40-0 on serve.<\/p>\n A double-fault at deuce was cheered by the crowd and Sinner then converted the break with two punishing backhands. Sinner then held serve to love to move in front.<\/p>\n Djokovic raised his level a notch in the second set and dropped only five points on his serve before the tiebreak which he edged to extend the contest into a decider.<\/p>\n Sinner broke for a 4-2 lead but Djokovic broke back immediately. When Sinner then moved 6-5 ahead on serve, Djokovic sat in his chair and conducted the jeers before a calm service hold sent an epic tussle into a shoot-out.<\/p>\n The smart money would have been on Djokovic to make a 20-match unbeaten streak for the ninth time in his career, but Sinner had other ideas as he chalked up one of the biggest wins of a career that now seems on the verge of lift-off.<\/p>\n “To beat the world number one, who has 24 Grand Slams, that means a lot, it’s one of the top (wins),” he said.<\/p>\n The match statistics summed up the quality on offer with a combined 83 winners and only 25 unforced errors in a contest lasting three hours and nine minutes.<\/p>\n Asked about the raucous crowd, Djokovic said: “I expected it, he’s the only Italian here and he’s playing in Italy. There’s a lot of hype and he’s in great form, so it’s normal.”<\/p>\n