Jannik Sinner moved to within touching distance of reclaiming the world No. 1 ranking after dismantling Alexander Zverev with ruthless ease to reach the Paris Masters final on Saturday. The Italian, who has dominated the indoor swing this season, required barely an hour to prevail 6-0, 6-1 and underline the gulf in form between the two former ATP Finals champions.
Victory in Sunday’s final will lift the four-time Grand Slam winner back to the summit of men’s tennis, displacing Carlos Alcaraz. Standing between Sinner and the ranking is ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who earlier overcame Alexander Bublik 7-6(3), 6-4 to keep his hopes alive of securing the final berth for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin.
Sinner entered the contest on a 24-match indoor winning streak, the latest stretch of a season in which his all-court authority has been unmistakable. He extended that run to 25 with a performance that combined first-serve dominance, clean hitting and sharp returning. Zverev, who saved two match points on Friday to outlast Daniil Medvedev in a gruelling quarterfinal, looked drained from the outset and struggled to cope with Sinner’s pace.
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The second seed swept through the opening set in 25 minutes, winning 90 per cent of his first-serve points as Zverev laboured at 47 per cent. Sinner carved out five break points, converting two, and scarcely relinquished control thereafter. When he broke for a 2-1 lead in the second set, Zverev bent over with his hands on his knees, reflecting the physical fatigue of a long week.
The Italian has now beaten the German four times in succession, edging ahead 5-4 in their career head-to-head and adding to last week’s Vienna final triumph. Zverev, the defending champion in Paris, never found rhythm and increasingly appeared resigned to the result.
Sinner will chase his fifth title of the year and the 23rd of his career in Sunday’s showpiece. Auger-Aliassime, meanwhile, seeks his fourth title of the season and stands one win away from joining the ATP Finals field. Their rivalry is evenly balanced at 2-2, though Sinner has claimed the last two meetings, including a straight-sets victory in this year’s US Open semifinals.
Sunday’s final offers Sinner the chance not merely to lift another Masters trophy, but to close out the season as the sport’s leading force — a position he appears more assured of with every passing week.
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