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So what of our match this evening? Well, Coach Calv reckons there’s never really any strategy when these two meet because they’re both so good. “No major tactical battle. They’ll both hit hard, whoever hits it better wins. Indoors, I think Sinner takes it.”
Henry, by the way, is a lovely man it was pleasure to interview earlier this year. He got engaged the other day; I daresay he’s had worse weeks, as this piece reveals.
Earlier this afternoon, a right result for the GBG. Regular readers will be familiar with Coach Calvin Betton, whose insights are so informative and so much better than what you get elsewhere. Well, Henry Patten, his charge, along with Harri Heliovvara, won this tournament’s doubles competition, beating Neal Skupski and Joe Salisbury 5 and 3.
In the absence of Premier League football, it’s been an amazing week of sport: this tournament has been a complete banger, featuring some of the best tennis we’ve seen this year. In particular, Fritz v Alcaraz, De Minaur v Musetti and De Minaur v Fritz were fantastic; the Grand Slam of Darts has been great, in particular Luke Humphries’ nine-darter to clinch victory against Michael Smith and his knockout wins over Smith then Gerwyn Price; and the Champion of Champions snooker, one of the best tournaments on the calendar, has featured some terrific contests, in particular Kyren Wilson’s defeat to Zhao Xintong. We are blessed.
Also going on:
Preamble
Buonasera and welcome to the ATP Finals 2025 – day eight!
We play sport for lots of reasons, central among them because we don’t what’s going to happen; for something a bit less predictable than the trudge through everyday life. But there are times we know exactly what will eventuate, finding thrill in a march to the inevitable through the joy of watching players too good for the inspire helpless anguish in those desperately seeking to compete. Well, this competition – and men’s tennis in general – is giving us both
When we started here, last Sunday afternoon, it was impossible to conceive of a final that didn’t pit Carlos Alcaraz against Jannik Sinner – every competition both have entered this year, one has won, and between them they’ve taken eight grand slam titles in a row, contesting the last three finals. They are wonderful, they are inevitable, and they are – despite their affirming amity and meritorious menschlichkeit – vicious, remorseless killers.
But now we have our predictable final, we’ve not a clue how it’ll shake out. On the one hand, Sinner is unbeaten in 30 indoor matches, having played just six tie-breaks and three deciders. Last year, he won this title without dropping a set, never losing more than four games in any one, while this term he’s not even been broken, devastatingly competent in all aspects of the game.
Alcaraz, though, is not subject to the same laws of physics and biology which govern the rest of us, able to bend nature to his will in a way that is almost suspicious. When he lost convincingly at Wimbledon, it seemed like a separation had taken place, but then in New York he delivered a performance of such emphatic superiority that it felt like he was taking the game beyond where Sinner can go. If he wins tonight, on this surface, the statement will resonate louder than the trophy; if Sinner wins tonight, he’ll reassert as the better man in predictable conditions; and whatever happens, it’ll be a lot, lot better than anything else the world has planned for us today.
Play: 6pm local, 5pm GMT.
