Sinner Surges Into Nitto ATP Finals Contention
What a difference a week can make. Jannik Sinner arrived in Washington on a four-match losing streak, having just fallen to World No. 132 Christopher O’Connell in Atlanta.
Five victories and a Citi Open title later, the Italian was crowned the first teenage champion at an ATP 500 event. A 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 triumph over Mackenzie McDonald capped a welcome resurgence of form and importantly catapulted Sinner into 10th place in the FedEx ATP Race to Turin, moving him into contention for a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held from 14-21 November.
FedEx ATP Race To Turin Standings (as of 9 August 2021)
| Player | Points |
| 1) Novak Djokovic | 7,170 |
| 2) Stefanos Tsitsipas | 4,660 |
| 3) Matteo Berrettini | 3,505 |
| 4) Andrey Rublev | 3,250 |
| 5) Alexander Zverev | 3,195 |
| 6) Daniil Medvedev | 3,020 |
| 7) Rafael Nadal | 2,985 |
| 8) Casper Ruud | 2,270 |
| 9) Hubert Hurkacz | 2,190 |
| 10) Jannik Sinner | 2,020 |
Sinner could join countryman Matteo Berrettini as one of two Italians to qualify for the season finale, which will be staged in Italy this year for the first time. The 19-year-old stands to add crucial points in coming weeks as the North American hard-court swing turns to ATP Masters 1000 events in Toronto and Cincinnati ahead of the season’s final Grand Slam at the US Open.
Sinner has not yet won a main-draw match in Cincinnati or Flushing Meadows and makes his debut this week at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers in Toronto against Australian qualifier James Duckworth or American Taylor Fritz in the second round.
Novak Djokovic is the only player who has sealed his place at the Nitto ATP Finals, for which eight players will qualify. The Serbian (7,170) leads the Race ahead of Stefanos Tsitsipas (4,660), Matteo Berrettini (3,505) and Andrey Rublev (3,250).
Reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion Daniil Medvedev (3,020) is well-positioned to make another appearance at the prestigious year-end event. Currently sixth in the Race, he enters the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers as the top seed.
Casper Ruud (2,270) has made huge inroads in the past month to put himself in eighth in the Race. The Norwegian star completed a clay-court hat-trick with victories in consecutive weeks in Bastad, Gstaad and Kitzbühel, becoming the first player to accomplish the feat in a decade. The 22-year-old trails seventh-placed Rafael Nadal (2,985) by 715 points in the Race.
Only 250 points separate Ruud and Sinner (2,020), with Miami champion Hubert Hurkacz (2,190) sitting between them in ninth place. Sinner jumped past Aslan Karatsev, Denis Shapovalov and Cameron Norrie with his Citi Open title run this week.