European Open: Jannik Sinner wins in Antwerp to stay in Masters race

Antwerp: Jannik Sinner forced his way into the race for a spot in the season-ending Masters by beating Diego Schwartzman 6-S2, 6-2 in the Antwerp ATP final on Sunday. The 20-year-old Italian was top seed and dispatched the second-seeded Argentine in one hour, 16 minutes for a fourth title of the season. Sinner did not lose a set in the tournament and was once again merciless in the final. His service was impeccable and he broke Schwartzman twice in each set. Sinner entered the tournament ranked 13th in the world ad 11th in the race to the year-end Masters, an eight-player event which in Turin on 14-21 November. He will climb to 11th in the ATP rankings after his win but 10th in the Masters table, effectively ninth because Rafael Nadal has already ended his season. Sinner won the Next Gen Masters for under-22 players in 2019 and is guaranteed a place in that tournament, in Milan from November 9-13, but he can still force his way into the senior event. He is due to play in an ATP event in Vienna next week, and the Paris Masters starting on 1 November. His victory continued his strong form in finals. This was the sixth of his career and he has lost only one, to Hubert Hurkacz in Miami in April. Since January, he has won in Washington, Melbourne and Sofia.