By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday October 24, 2021
20-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner zoomed past Diego Schwartzman to claim the title in Antwerp.
Photo Source: European Open
Jannik Sinner became the youngest ATP player to lock up five career titles in nearly 15 years, since Novak Djokovic in 2007, with a 6-2 6-2 victory over Diego Schwartzman in the Antwerp final.
The 20-year-old was dominant from start to finish in his first career meeting with Schwartman. He won 91 percent of his first-serve points and converted four of seven break points, while saving the only two break points he faced against the 29-year-old from Argentina.
"I felt great but in tennis every day is different, you have to be careful," Sinner told reporters after the final. "I think I played well the whole tournament to be honest, from the first point to the last point, but in another way you have to be careful, you have to be, if you get a break, trying to hold it, if not, every time is a little roller coaster and I think today I managed to do that."
The victory lands Sinner just 110 points out of the final spot in the Race to Turin, behind Hubert Hurkacz, who currently holds down the last spot.
Sinner joins four other players – Casper Ruud (5), Novak Djokovic (4), Daniil Medvedev(4), Alexander Zverev (4) – on the list of ATP players to have won at least four titles in 2021.
“He’s playing unbelievable,” Schwartzman told the crowd after the final. “I was playing one of my best weeks of all the year and today I had no chances since the beginning of the match, he was playing and doing everything than me.”
Schwartzman found himself pushed back behind the baseline by Sinner’s pace and depth on a consistent basis in the match. He wasn’t helped by his serve, and only won 48 percent of his first-serve points. The Argentine drops to 4-8 lifetime in ATP finals and 0-5 in indoor finals.
Sinner improves to 5-1 in ATP finals – he is projected to rise to a career-high ranking of 11 in the world.