A changeover snack in Vienna four years ago has turned into a fan club and a friendship.

Jannik Sinner met with his fan club, The Carota Boys, who have become famous in the tennis world for showing up at tournaments in carrot costumes. The act stems from a changeover in Vienna four years ago when the Italian chowed down on a whole carrot.

“They are more famous than I am to be honest,” Sinner said at his pre-tournament press conference in Turin. “I got to know them a couple of days ago. It was a great meeting, obviously.”

Sinner also caught up with The Carota Boys on Sunday at the Pala Alpitour, where the 22-year-old won his first round-robin match of the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals against Stefanos Tsitsipas. 

“I don’t know them really, really well at the moment. I got the names, but I still got a little bit confused. It’s because they have this good-looking costume with the carota,” Sinner said. “But still it’s great to have this dedicated fan club to be honest. It’s growing, so I’m happy for them.”

Sinner will try to move to 2-0 in Green Group action on Tuesday when he plays World No. 1 Novak Djokovic. The home favourite can qualify for the semi-finals of the season finale by defeating Djokovic in straight sets, or if he triumphs in three and Stefanos Tsitsipas beats Holger Rune in the afternoon.

The Italian will hope to use the support of The Carota Boys and the Pala Alpitour crowd to continue his success at the prestigious tournament.

“The atmosphere was really, really nice,” Sinner said after defeating Tsitsipas. “It’s huge pleasure for me to play here in Turin, in Italy. Obviously a little bit more pressure, but I managed it really well today, so I’m happy.”

Although he must have been feeling it under the surface, there were no outward signs of nerves for Gonzalo Bueno as he hit balls with Carlos Alcaraz at the Pala Alpitour in Turin.

Their training session took place on Saturday at 11am, just one day before the start of the Nitto ATP Finals, the season’s grand finale. The 19-year-old Peruvian, No. 378 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, is one of the tournament sparring partners. Over the first few days, Bueno has practised with Holger Rune, Jannik Sinner, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Alcaraz himself, in what must have been something of a tennis masterclass.

“Nervous? Yes, of course,” a laughing Bueno tells ATPTour.com, after finishing his training session with the World No. 2, his t-shirt dripping with sweat.

“It’s even more nerve-wracking when you’re playing with someone who has won two Grand Slams. If I had to play with Djokovic it’d be even worse…,” he continues. “You do relax a little and get into the rhythm of it and your adrenaline kicks in. I think it went pretty well.”

Alongside his coach Pato Reynoso, the Peruvian completed a 45-minute session with Alcaraz. During that time, neither player held back, with the Spaniard producing some frightening shots that the Peruvian defended with aplomb, perfectly fulfilling his role in Turin: to help fine-tune the best players in the world.

“It was incredible,” admitted Bueno. “The ball comes back so fast when he ups his forehand, it’s amazing. I couldn’t wait to practise with him because at 14 years of age we played in the same World Finals in Prostejov. Seeing him here is spectacular. Carlos is a very normal guy, like the rest of his team. In fact, I reminded him about the World Finals and we were talking about that. He’s a great guy.”

As well as training with Alcaraz, the Peruvian is making the most of the lessons that may help him tackle future challenges. Playing so many hours of tennis with the elite of the ATP Tour will give him invaluable experience and confidence.

“It’s an unbelievable experience for me,” said Bueno. “I feel like I’m learning a lot here, and that gives me extra motivation to play in the tournaments that I have at the end of the year. There are very few opportunities like this, so I really value it.

“Being here this week with the eight best players in the world, sharing the experience with them, having my own locker room, the restaurant… it’s all new to me and I’m really enjoying it so much.”

Bueno will take encouragement from the fact that some players who have previously fulfilled his role at the Nitto ATP Finals have gone on to play in the event. Rune was a sparring partner in London in 2019 and in 2023 he is debuting at the tournament having claimed the final qualifying spot.

After his week as a practice partner in Turin, Bueno will get back to the final part of his 2023 season, before focusing on 2024, for which he already has one particular goal.

“We still haven’t met with the team, but it would be so exciting if I could play in the Grand Slams,” admitted the Peruvian. “I’m really close, and it would be a dream come true if I could compete in the main draw of a major. For now I want to focus on getting into the qualifiers and then we’ll see what happens.”

Holger Rune and Novak Djokovic played out another three-set epic on Sunday at the Nitto ATP Finals, where the Serbian prevailed to move to 3-2 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. It is the fourth time in a row the pair’s clashes have gone to deciding sets, with Rune winning at least one set in all five encounters.

Despite his defeat, Rune was proud of how he fought against the World No. 1 again.

“We have had great matches always when we played,” Rune said. “Unfortunately I couldn’t do it today, but that’s how it is. I have to look forward and take the things out of the match I was happy with, take the things out of the match that I wasn’t happy with, and go back to the practise tomorrow and try to make them better.

“I thought it was a higher level match than in Paris, that I’m glad,” added Rune, who lost in three sets to Djokovic at the Masters 1000 event in France earlier this month. “The result was pretty similar. Novak is an amazing player.”

Rune, who is making his debut at the prestigious year-end event, pushed Djokovic hard throughout the three-hour, four-minute clash before ultimately falling short. The 20-year-old is pleased with how he handled the physical element of the match.

“I think physically I felt okay. Of course, I feel it. We played [for] three hours. But I’m sure he also felt it a little bit,” Rune said. “I was ready, if I had the chance, from 5-3 to 5-4 to keep going, but that didn’t happen. I think I tried to manage my energy as good as possible during the match, not use too much unnecessary energy, and stay calm and play the tennis that I like to play.”

Watching on in Rune’s box was coach Boris Becker, who had a successful spell working with Djokovic from 2014-16. The Dane is pleased to be working with the German.

“It’s great. It’s really good. He [Becker] has been there many, many times himself, which helps,” Rune said. “He can give out from his experience, give that to me on how to handle the things on the court, off the court. We are still in the tournament, so let’s continue to fight.”

Rune will face Stefanos Tsitsipas in his second Green Group match before finishing against Jannik Sinner. The 20-year-old is still alive in the event.

Novak Djokovic clinched his record-extending eighth ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by Pepperstone finish on Sunday when he defeated Holger Rune in his opening match at the Nitto ATP Finals.

After a back-and-forth battle for the honour with Carlos Alcaraz throughout the 2023 season, Djokovic has emerged on top. The Serbian also extended his record as oldest year-end No. 1 in Pepperstone ATP Rankings history. Two years ago he was the oldest to finish the season in top spot aged 34, and he has beaten his own mark by repeating the feat aged 36.

Djokovic is now two year-end No. 1 finishes clear of Pete Sampras, who is second on the historic list with six year-end No. 1 campaigns. The Serbian has earned the honour in eight of the past 13 seasons.

MOST ATP YEAR-END NO. 1 PRESENTED BY PEPPERSTONE FINISHES

By clinching year-end No. 1, Djokovic will enjoy his record 400th week atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings beginning 20 November.

Djokovic has spent 25 weeks in top spot in 2023. World No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings changed seven times this year between the Serbian and Alcaraz.

A winner of six titles so far this season — tied for the most on the ATP Tour with Alcaraz — Djokovic won three of the season’s four majors. He lifted the trophy at the Australian Open, Roland Garros and the US Open.

Now a 24-time major champion, Djokovic captured three Slams in a year for the fourth time in his career (also 2011, 2015 and 2021). He stands alone with the most major titles in the history of men’s tennis.

The 36-year-old triumphed in Cincinnati and Paris to add two more ATP Masters 1000 trophies to his collection. Djokovic has now won a record 40 titles at that elite level.

DJOKOVIC 2023 STATS

Djokovic, who also emerged victorious in Adelaide, owns a 52-5 record following his opening victory in Turin. His 91 per cent win rate in 2023 is nearly eight per cent higher than his career average according to Infosys ATP Stats.

ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said: “Becoming year-end No. 1 is an incredible accomplishment. To achieve it eight times is absolutely extraordinary. Novak continues to set the standard in tennis, and his passion and drive make him a true champion. There’s no doubt that more greatness and records lie ahead in his journey.”

Novak Djokovic dug deep to pass a stiff early test Sunday at the Nitto ATP Finals. In overcoming Holger Rune across three gruelling sets in his opening match at the prestigious season finale, the 36-year-old Serbian made history.

The top-seeded Djokovic’s 7-6(4), 6-7(1), 6-3 victory in Green Group ensured that he will claim the coveted ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by Pepperstone honour for a record-extending eighth time. The six-time Nitto ATP Finals champion Djokovic also guaranteed himself a historic 400th week overall as World No. 1 in the 20 November edition of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

“It means a lot,” said Djokovic of ensuring he will end the year as World No. 1. “You could see there were a lot of emotions on the court. I could feel it. I was very eager to win tonight’s match, get that monkey off my back. I won Paris, which put me in a much better position rankings-wise, and I knew coming into Turin I only needed to win one match. A big goal is achieved, everything else now is a bonus.”

Another 1🥇 @PepperstoneFX | #ATPRankings | #partner pic.twitter.com/Mc2C0V4Riu

— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 12, 2023

Djokovic’s path to those milestones on Sunday was anything but straightforward. Event debutant Rune delivered an accomplished performance inside the Pala Alpitour featuring plenty of high-quality moments, particularly on return. Yet the 2022 champion Djokovic dug deep in trademark fashion to seal a lung-busting three-hour, four-minute triumph and extend his Nitto ATP Finals winning streak to six matches.

“It took everything,” said Djokovic. “I saw in the first game, when he fired shots from the baseline in the firsdt three or four points, I knew that it was going to be a tough life for me. If I wanted to win this match, I was going to have to work really hard… He was feeling the ball well, he was sharp. Very aggressive, every short ball he was coming in and he served terrific.”

With his 19th consecutive tour-level win, Djokovic joined Jannik Sinner on a 1-0 record in Green Group after the home favourite earlier overcame Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4.

Rune delivered a powerful signal of his intent on the opening point of Sunday’s match, crushing a stunning backhand return winner past Djokovic. That was the first of 19 winners the Dane struck in a pulsating 72-minute first set, but he was unable to hold his lead after breaking in the fifth game as Djokovic began to move his opponent around the court more effectively.

The Serbian broke Rune back immediately for 3-3 and later dialled down in trademark fashion to clinch a tie-break in which he won four points against the 20-year-old Rune’s serve.

The lung-busting nature of the first set did little to hamper the intensity of either player in the second. Despite the fast-paced conditions of the Pala Alpitour, Djokovic and Rune’s elite defensive skills ensured a series of extended all-court exchanges, ultimately leading to another tie-break as neither player was able to take control.

Djokovic had moved to 29-6 in tie-breaks for the season after the first set, but Rune soon found himself on the brink of levelling the match as a couple of uncharacteristic forehand errors contributed to the Dane opening a 6/0 lead. A pumped-up Rune made no mistake in forcing a deciding set.

Just as he has done so often in his groundbreaking career, Djokovic found a way to immediately halt his opponent’s momentum. Despite showing frustration after letting slip an early break lead in the third set, the Serbian maintained his focus to clinch his fourth break of the match in the sixth game before serving out for a hard-earned victory.

“I thought he played great,” said Djokovic. “I played great at some moments. At some moments I dropped the level, but overall a win is a win. It was a very emotional win and a tough win because of the significance of tonight’s match, obviously knowing that if I won I was going to clinch the year-end No. 1. So that was added pressure and tension, but after a terrible second-set tie-break I think I played a really solid deciding set.”