The sinner is the king of Belgium – tennis

Yannick Sener was in a class of his own in Antwerp. © ANSA / Oliver Hoslet

He went on to star as the front-runner – and he lived up to that role admirably. Yannick Sener won the ATP 250 Championship in Antwerp, Belgium in style on Sunday.

October 24, 2021

Author: am

All set for a dream final: Sinner (ATP 13) moved into the final as the number one seed player without dropping a set. But his opponent, Argentine Diego Schwartzman (ATP 14), who is ranked second, had not yet given a set in this tournament. Only against aging superstar Andy Murray had to enter the tiebreak. But in the end, the conclusion of the dream became a clear matter. The sinner behaved very well, with excessive force, with excessive confidence. 20-year-old Sesto did not give the 29-year-old a chance to the South American, and after 1:16 hours he won 6:2, 6:2.

But first things first: In the first set, Sinner got off to a strong start and got the first in the third with a cracked forehand. Then he submitted his serve himself without losing a point. Even in the first phase of this encounter, I noticed: The sinner absolutely wants this victory. Momentum was on his side, and the Argentine didn’t have much to oppose the great South Tyrol. In the fifth inning, Pusterer took the next break and led 4-1. Through his own serve, he then made a two-break save and increased to 5:1. But Schwartzman once again proved his morale, making two saves and repelling the balls himself. Immediately afterwards Sinner explained everything and decided the first sentence in 39 minutes for himself.

Sinner showed a great match. © ANSA / Oliver Hoslet

In the second sentence, the same image from the beginning: a perfect sinner. Already in the first match, Sesto took the Argentine’s serve – and this is to zero. Sener also managed to serve himself without losing any points. The game is now like a show of force. But even at this point, Schwartzman did not let himself down and climbed to 1:2. However, this was only a short mutiny. With another game without losing points, Sinner led 3-1 and immediately afterwards made the break 4-1. This was the final initial decision, and the resistance of South America seemed to be broken. Schwartzman managed his serve again, but with his own serve, Sener scored two game points with a 40:15 lead – and changed the second.

Schwartzman had little to oppose the young South Tyrolean. © ANSA / Oliver Hoslet

For Sinner, this was his fourth ATP Championship win this year. He continues to write tennis history: no player from Italy has ever won four ATP titles in just one season. Overall, this was his fifth success in the ATP Championship in 6 finals. In the world rankings, he will climb to eleventh place. The next stress test is already in Sinner’s program these days. The 20-year-old is taking part in the high-profile ATP 500 tournament in Vienna. On Tuesday, Sinner, ranked seventh, will meet American services giant Riley Opelka (ATP 25) in the final 16th.

You can read the full game in SportNews’ live news feed.

ATP Championship victories* at a glance:

2020: ATP 250 in Sofia (BUL)
2021: ATP 250 in Melbourne (Australia)
2021: ATP 500 in Washington (USA)
2021: ATP 250 in Sofia (BUL)
2021: ATP 250 in Antwerp (Belgium)

*In 2019, Sinner won the Next Generation Finals, but no world ranking points were awarded.