#NextGenATP Italian Jannik Sinner continued his bid to reach the Nitto ATP Finals on Saturday as he downed fifth seed Filip Krajinovic 6-3, 7-5 at the Sofia Open to reach his fourth tour-level final of the season.
Sinner, who is the defending champion in Bulgaria, was strong on serve, winning 86 per cent (24/28) of points behind his first delivery to advance after one hour and 43 minutes in their first ATP Head2Head meeting.
FOLLOW THIS WEEK’S ACTION
The top seed has enjoyed a strong season, winning tour-level titles in Melbourne and Washington, while also advancing to his first ATP Masters 1000 final in Miami. Sinner is currently 10th in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin as he aims to qualify for the season finale, to be held at the Pala Alpitour in Turin from 14-21 November.
The 20-year-old has yet to drop a set this week and will face second seed Gael Monfils in the final after the Frenchman cruised past American Marcos Giron 7-5, 6-0. Sinner leads Monfils 2-1 in their ATP Head2Head Series, recently beating the World No. 20 in five sets at the US Open.
In an entertaining match, both players played aggressively as they looked to control the tempo. After breaks were exchanged during the first set, Sinner moved ahead when Krajinovic hit a backhand into the net. The Serbian regained momentum in the second set, but could not convert from 5-2 ahead as Sinner won five games in a row to advance.
Krajinovic was aiming to capture his first tour-level title this week, having enjoyed a run to the championship match in Hamburg in July.