It will be a proverbial dead rubber at the Nitto ATP Finals when Jannik Sinner and Ben Shelton square off on Friday afternoon in Turin. Sinner is already through to the semifinals and has won Group Bjorn Borg with a 2-0 record, while Shelton has been eliminated at 0-2.
This marks the ninth meeting between Sinner and Shelton, with the Italian dominating their head-to-head series 7-1. He has won seven in a row over the American since losing their first encounter at the 2023 Shanghai Masters. Sinner has reeled off an unbelievable 17 sets in succession, earning all seven of his victories in straight sets.
There is no reason to think anything will change on Friday. Shelton is making his debut at the year-end championship and–somewhat predictably–it has not gone well. The fifth-ranked American did not arrive in Turin in great shape, as his 2025 momentum was stalled by a shoulder injury at the U.S. Open. He has won only three matches during the fall swing to go along with six losses, including a 6-3, 7-6(6) setback against Alexander Zverev on Sunday followed by a 4-6, 7-6(7), 7-5 heartbreaker against Felix Auger-Aliassime on Tuesday.
Sinner has extended his Nitto ATP Finals winning streak to seven matches by beating Auger-Aliassime 7-5, 6-1 and Zverev 6-4, 6-3. The world No. 2 was the undefeated champion 12 months ago, when he did not drop a set in five matches and did not even get pushed to a single tiebreaker. Sinner is now 12-2 lifetime in Turin, which includes a runner-up performance in 2023 (lost to Novak Djokovic).
Although Sinner may endure a few lapses in concentration given that there isn’t a whole lot at stake in this matchup, he still wants to win it. And he almost certainly will, as the crowd favorite tries to carry momentum into the semifinals.
Pick: Sinner in 2
WWW?
Should be Sinner in 2
No brainer if Sinner is anywhere near his best
But I’ll go Sinner in three, FAA in decent form