It will be a proverbial dead rubber at the Nitto ATP Finals when Jannik Sinner and Ben Shelton face off in Turin on Friday afternoon. Sinner has already advanced to the semi-finals, winning Group Bjorn Borg 2-0, while Shelton was eliminated 0-2.
This marks the ninth meeting between Sinner and Shelton, with the Italian dominated their head-to-head series 7-1. He has won seven in a row against the American since losing their first meeting at the 2023 Shanghai Masters. Sinner has won an impressive 17 sets in a row, with all seven victories coming in straight sets.
There is no reason to believe anything will change on Friday. Shelton makes his debut at the year-end championship and, somewhat predictably, things haven’t gone well. The fifth-seeded American did not arrive in Turin in top form as his 2025 momentum was hampered by a shoulder injury at the US Open. He has won just three matches and suffered six losses during the fall swing, including a 6-3, 7-6(6) setback against Alexander Zverev on Sunday, followed by a 4-6, 7-6(7), 7-5 heartbreaker against Felix Auger-Aliassime on Tuesday.
Sinner extended his Nitto ATP Finals winning streak to seven matches by beating Auger-Aliassime 7-5, 6-1 and Zverev 6-4, 6-3. The world number 2 was the undefeated champion 12 months ago when he did not drop a set in five matches and was not even pushed to a tiebreak. Sinner is now 12-2 in Turin, including a second-place finish in 2023 (lost to Novak Djokovic).
While Sinner may suffer a few lapses in concentration since there isn’t much at stake in this match, he still wants to win. And he almost certainly will, as the crowd favorite looks to carry momentum into the semi-finals.
Choice: sinner in 2
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