ATP Finals 2023: Jannik Sinner battles past Holger Rune to send Novak Djokovic into last four
Jannik Sinner battled Holger Rune to maintain his perfect record on home soil at the ATP Finals, a result that sent Novak Djokovic through to the last four alongside him.
Djokovic, looking to win a record-breaking seventh title, had to wait to find out whether he had made it through to the semi-finals after defeating Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (1) 4-6 6-1 in the afternoon match.
The scoreline guaranteed Sinner a place in the semi-finals - the first Italian to do so at the prestigious tournament - and meant any win for Rune would be enough to put him through ahead of defending champion Djokovic.
However, Sinner again proved just too strong on home soil in Turin, following up his brilliant victory over Djokovic on Tuesday with a 6-2 5-7 6-4 win against the young Dane.
Sinner was untouchable at the start, winning the opening four games before Rune got into the match.
The second set was much tighter and there were physical concerns for both men, with Rune calling the trainer to have strapping applied under his right knee before Sinner appeared to tweak his back.
When Sinner dropped serve to lose the second set, the contest was fully in the balance and it remained that way through the decider until the fourth seed broke through to lead 5-4 and served out a first career win over Rune.
Hurkacz replaced the injured Stefanos Tsitsipas and knew going into his clash against Djokovic that he was not able to progress but, with 200 ranking points and more than £300,000 in prize money on the table, there was still plenty to play for.
A very tight first set went the way of Djokovic thanks to a flawless tie-break, but Hurkacz, who had lost all six previous matches against the Serbian, broke serve in the fifth game of the second and held his advantage to level the match before his opponent dominated the decider.
Afterwards he insisted he was ready to accept whatever came, telling reporters in Turin of Sinner: "No, I will not be his fan. If he wins, I'll qualify. If he doesn't, I'll still finish the season with a win and look to Davis Cup. That's all I feel now."
Additional report by PA Sport.