Jannik Sinner defeats De Minaur to become the youngest Next Gen winner

Jannik Sinner defeated Alex De Minaur 4-2, 4-1, 4-2 to win the Next Gen ATP Finals on Saturday evening. The Italian, being a local boy, was the crowd favorite and turned up in the finals dominating the match entirely. 

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A wild card entry

Sinner, who got a wild card entry in the tournament, had an excellent week after qualifying from Group B amongst players such as Frances Tiafoe, Ugo Humbert and Mikael Ymer. Speaking to the media after the win, he said, "I don’t have words. He’s an unbelievable player. I just tried to play my game and not make any errors. I didn’t make many today, so I’m very happy with my performance. The week has been unbelievable. The crowd,  you can hear them now. I’m very happy, I wouldn't be here without the wild card, so thanks to everyone. I hope to be back here next year." The 18-year old has now become the youngest Next Gen Champion in history. 

It has been a remarkable year for the Italian, who was 553rd in the world rankings in December 2018 and is now in the top-100. 

De Minaur, on the other hand, was quoted as saying, "It’s been a great week. Jannik was too good. I’m happy with my year and looking forward to next year.” The Australian has had a very good run himself, staring the year with the Australian Open and competing at the very top level throughout the year.

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Sinner’s win over De Minaur is his second Top 20 victory of the season, having also defeated Gael Monfils last month in Antwerp. He saved all nine break points while breaking the Aussie three times to take the title in 64 minutes. He is the youngest player to be in the top-100 in the world. He also made his Grand Slam debut this year at the US Open. 

The tournament concluded a day before the ATP Tour Finals, the annual tournament where the world's highest-ranked players compete. 

(with inputs from nextgenatpfinals.com)

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