Jannik Sinner torpedoes Frances Tiafoe in Cincinnati final | ATP Tour

Mind Game

Sinner lights out torpedoes Tiafoe in Cincinnati final

The Italian has dropped less than a third of his career points than the American

August 20, 2024

The server was turned off.

Jannik Sinner defeated Frances Tiafoe 7-6(1), 6-2 in the Cincinnati Open final on Friday after her strongest performance of the tournament.

Tiafoe won just 11 return points of the match, with Sinner holding five of his 10 service games to love it. Things could have gone in a different direction if Tiafoe had converted one of the two break points he held in the opening game when Sinner fell behind 15/40. But two return errors later, Sinner was out of the hole, and his momentum to win the match had kicked into gear.

Tiafoe won only five return points against Sinner in the first match and six in the second match, according to Infosys ATP Stats. On the other side of the net, Sinner won more than three times that amount, winning by 34 points. Fourteen were against the first group, and 20 were against the second.

Tiafoe’s real problem was getting Sinner’s books on the court.

First Serve Comes Back In

• Sinner = 59% (27/46)
• Tiafoe = 33% (11/33)
• Visit Rate = 62%

Second Serve Comes Back In

• Sinner = 89% (32/36)
• Tiafoe = 70% (16/23)
• Visit Rate = 82%

Sinner Deuce Court Workshop
Sinner, the first player to qualify for November’s Nitto ATP Finals, chose to mix up the confusion with his first foray into the Deuce court. Ten out wide, just one in the body, and eight down T. Sinner won 9/10 out wide and 6/8 down the middle. All second servers are safely directed to the backhand jam area, where they won on 9/11. As Sinner hit his spots, the Italian only fell behind on two points in his 10 service games, while Tiafoe had to play behind his four.

Ad Zone Workspace
If Sinner needs a point in the ad space, expect a flourish, which is flat first given wide. He directed the first 10 served there, and won all the points. The Italian went down the T just four times, winning three. Ten of the 12 seconds were also found in the backhand jam area. In total, he dropped just two points of performance in the ad court.

Return Position
Tiafoe, who returned to the Top 20 of the PIF ATP Rankings by reaching the final, hit all of his first 20 returns from within two meters of the baseline. This was a stark contrast to Sinner, who hit 93 percent (38/41) of his kickoff returns from behind that two-yard point.

Tiafoe tried to attack Sinner’s second base with his feet, standing inside the baseline to make contact on 39 percent (9/21) of his second returns. Another 14 contact points were located directly behind the base. Tiafoe was trying to create pressure with his court position but he did not bring that pressure to the other side of the net. The offender chose to combine his contact point on the second return, sometimes one meter inside the baseline, while also moving up more than four meters behind the baseline to return eight.

The match slipped through Tiafoe’s fingers with two failed break points in the opening game. It quickly got away from him in the second set as Sinner dialed in his serves and cruised to a straight sets victory.

Sinner now leads Tiafoe 4-1 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.