Turin, November 20

Defending champion Daniil Medvedev stormed into the final of the season-ending ATP Finals tournament in Turin today after crushing Norway’s Casper Ruud 6-4 6-2.

Russian Medvedev will face either Novak Djokovic or Germany’s Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s final.

Medvedev started strongly against Ruud, breaking early to take a 2-1 lead in the first set and dictating play from the back of the court as Ruud struggled to contend with his opponent’s deep groundstrokes.

The Russian won 85% of his first-serve points as he wrapped up the opener in 42 minutes.

The second set followed a similar pattern to the first, with Medvedev racing into a 4-2 lead before closing out the match in 80 minutes, sending down 17 winners and making just 14 unforced errors in the one-sided victory.

The match marked world No. 2 Medvedev’s ninth win in a row at the ATP Finals and he improved his head-to-head record over Ruud to 3-0. — Reuters

No vaccine, no play for Djokovic

Melbourne: Novak Djokovic’s participation in the Australian Open in January is in doubt after officials confirmed all players must be vaccinated in order to compete in the tournament. Djokovic, a nine-time winner in Melbourne, has repeatedly refused to disclose his vaccination status and intimated he would not play if the vaccine ruling was enforced. Tournament Director Craig Tiley said at the tournament’s official launch: “Everyone on site -- the fans, the staff and the players -- will need to be vaccinated in order to participate in this year’s Australian Open. There has been a lot of speculation around Novak’s position. He has noted and said publicly that it is a private matter. We would love to see Novak here he knows he has to be vaccinated in order to play.” Djokovic appears adamant that he will not bow to Melbourne’s demands. Speaking this week at the ATP Tour finals, he insisted: “You should have the freedom to choose, to decide what you want to do. In this case, what you want to put in your body.” AP