ATP Finals 2023: Jannik Sinner vs Holger Rune preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (4) Jannik Sinner vs (8) Holger Rune
Date: November 16, 2023
Tournament: ATP Finals 2023
Round: Round robin
Venue: Pala Alpitour, Turin, Italy
Category: Year-ending championships
Surface: Indoor hardcourt
Prize money: $15,000,000
Live telecast: USA – Tennis Channel | UK – Amazon Prime Video | Canada - TSN
Jannik Sinner vs Holger Rune preview
Fourth seed Jannik Sinner will face off against Holger Rune in the group stage of the 2023 ATP Finals on Thursday.
Following a 6-4, 6-4 win over Stefanos Tsitsipas, Sinner was up against defending champion Novak Djokovic in his second group tie. While the two were on even terms for most of the first set, the Italian eventually got the edge as he bagged the last three games of the set to take it.
Neither got close to a break point in the second set, which was then claimed by Djokovic in the tie-break. Sinner initially led by a break in the third set, but the Serb broke back immediately to negate his advantage. The match was then decided by a tie-break, in which the Italian came out on top to win 7-5, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (2).
Rune's campaign in Turin began with a three-set defeat against Djokovic. He then took on Tsitsipas in his next match. The two were on court for a short time, when the Greek was forced to retire due to an injury, with the score at 2-1. As per the rules, the match counted as a straight sets win for the Dane.
Jannik Sinner vs Holger Rune head-to-head
Rune leads Sinner 2-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters in three sets.
Jannik Sinner vs Holger Rune odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Jannik Sinner vs Holger Rune prediction
Sinner withstood an onslaught from Djokovic in his previous match, but finally managed to score his first win over the Serb. He fired 15 aces and won 79% of his first serve points, and struck a total of 37 winners throughout the match.
Rune, on the other hand, didn't get a chance to test himself as Tsitsipas' injury forced him to throw in the towel. The Dane, along with Sinner and Djokovic, are now in a three-way race to claim the two semifinals spots from this group.
Rune has a winning record against Sinner, but the latter has been on fire for the past couple of time. The Dane went through a rough patch for a while, but seems to have found his footing over the past few weeks.
Sinner's gameplay is complimented by the fast indoor conditions, giving his groundstrokes that extra pop to punish his opponents. Rune's quite comfortable in competing in these conditions too.
Both players serve quite well, though Sinner seems to have upped the ante in this regard in recent weeks. The vocal crowd support by the home crowd could get to Rune, but even without that, the Italian's recent performances make him the favorite to win this match.
Pick: Jannik Sinner to win in three sets.