TURIN, Italy — It’s supposed to be the tournament where the eight best players of the year compete for one final prestigious trophy.

Only this year it was hardly a competition at the ATP Finals.

This is because Jannik Sinner’s game reached such a level in Turin that his fellow competitors, all ranked in the top 10, said “you really can’t do anything” because “he plays almost too well”.

“I go into these matches expecting him to make incredible shots,” said Taylor Fritz, the American who had the misfortune of facing Sinner twice, losing both in the group stage and in the final on Sunday. “When this happens, we say to ourselves that there’s really nothing we can do.”

Sinner’s triumph follows his first two Grand Slam titles this year, at the Australian Open and the US Open.

He has a huge lead atop the rankings, is on an 11-game winning streak, has won 26 of his last 27 matches and is 70-6 overall this year.

In matches against No. 9 Alex de Minaur, No. 4 Fritz and No. 5 Daniil Medvedev in the group stage; then number 6 Casper Ruud in the semi-final and Fritz again in the final, Sinner did not lose a set – a feat last accomplished at the ATP Finals by Ivan Lendl in 1986. Nobody even won more than four games on him in a set.

Sinner, however, did not face Carlos Alcaraz, the only player to beat him more than once this year.

Ruud was blown away by Sinner’s level after facing him for the first time in three years.

“Everything about his game has improved,” Ruud said. “He is very serious about what he does. It’s inspiring. Even though he is younger than me, I have a lot to learn from him.

“He plays almost too well for most of his opponents,” Ruud added.

Ruud, who only managed to win three matches against Sinner with a score of 6-1,6-2, described the Italian’s shots as “missiles”.

“You feel like unless you hit a ball with really good depth, or close to the sidelines – and even if you hit it close to the sidelines, but not fast enough – he’s going to throw it back at you “, Ruud said.

“It’s stressful. For a split second, every time before you shoot, you think, ‘If I don’t succeed, I might be punished with the next shot.'”

Ruud says Sinner plays ‘faster’ than Novak Djokovic and ‘doesn’t let you breathe’.

The Norwegian was asked to compare Sinner’s level to that of Djokovic, the record 24-time Grand Slam champion who withdrew from this year’s tournament due to injury.

“On TV, the way they play is probably similar, but Jannik hits the ball faster than Novak,” Ruud said. “With Novak you can play rallies. I’m not going to say it’s easier to play against Novak, because he’s the best in history. However, at least with Novak you can play more rallies and don’t be terrified that he’ll rip a bomb on the court or cross-court.

“You don’t realize how fast Jannik plays unless you watch him play live and be there in the stadium,” Ruud added.

The only cloud hanging over the Italian is the doping scandal that broke ahead of this year’s US Open.

Sinner tested positive in two separate doping tests in March and the decision to clear him of any wrongdoing was the subject of an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in September. A final decision is expected next year.

Sinner’s explanation was that the banned performance-enhancing steroid had entered his system unintentionally via a massage from his physiotherapist, who had used a spray containing the substance to treat his own severed finger.

Sinner’s team, however, does not foresee a possible ban, although WADA is asking for a suspension of up to two years. Simone Vagnozzi, one of Sinner’s coaches, said the team was not even considering such an eventuality.

“Honestly, we didn’t even think about it, and I don’t even want to think about it,” Vagnozzi said. “He doesn’t deserve a ban because he didn’t do anything wrong. He couldn’t have prevented what happened.”

Instead, Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill, Sinner’s other coach, implemented more options, such as slices and serve-volleys, into Sinner’s game.

“He played the backhand well against Medvedev, but he could use it more often in other circumstances. He could do more serve-and-volley,” Vagnozzi said after the championship match of the final. “He was constantly changing his back position so as not to give Fritz any reference point.”

Sinner has won a total of eight tournaments this year and will have a mountain of ranking points to defend in 2025.

“We don’t care about that at all,” Cahill said, preferring instead to focus on the “Race to Turin” rankings that qualify players for the ATP Finals.

“January 1 will be the same for all players on tour. It’s like a Formula 1 race.

“We start from scratch, and here we go, week in and week out, and try to score points.”

But first, Sinner will try to help Italy defend the Davis Cup title this week in Malaga, Spain, where Rafael Nadal will retire.

Agencies via Xinhua