“Please throw the game” – Rival fans request Jannik Sinner to lose against Holger Rune which will ensure Novak Djokovic’s exit from the 2023 ATP Finals

Jannik Sinner holds a perfect 2-0 record at the 2023 ATP Finals.

“Please throw the game” – Rival fans request Jannik Sinner to lose against Holger Rune which will ensure Novak Djokovic’s exit from the 2023 ATP Finals

L-R: Novak Djokovic, Holger Rune and Jannik Sinner (Via tennis.com/X)

Novak Djokovic registered a three-set win over Hubert Hurkacz on Thursday. However, he will need to rely on Jannik Sinner losing against Holger Rune if he wishes to make it to the final four of the ATP Finals. The Serb’s future at the tournament lies completely out of his hands moving ahead.

Djokovic was on the perfect streak till his win against Holger Rune. However, his loss to Sinner at the round-robin match of the ATP Finals forced him to restart his streak. The Serb was on a 19-match win streak will his loss to Sinner. However, this puts Djokovic in a tricky position.

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He is on his way to break his joint record with Roger Federer for the most number of ATP Finals titles. With a title this year, he will hold a record 7 titles at the year-end. However, this dream becoming a reality is possible only if the Italian loses in his match to Dane Holger Rune.

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Rival fans on X (earlier known as Twitter0 have begun requesting Sinner to drop the match against Rune so that Djokovic does not move on to the semi-final. Regardless of his outcome in the match against the Dane, Sinner will be able to qualify for the semi-final.

The tennis crowd on Twitter has asked the Italian to drop his game since it has no serious impact on his future in the tournament. “Sinner please throw the game away. Send Djokovic home abeg,” said a user on the social media platform.

Another went as far as to hope that Sinner would ‘take one for the team’. They were also certain that Djokovic not making it to the final four would be good for all the fans of the sport. Had the Serb won in straight sets against Hurkacz, he would have been guaranteed a spot in the semi-finals. Unfortunately for the Serb, the match had gone onto three sets. This puts Djokovic in a tricky situation.

Novak Djokovic can qualify for the final four only if Jannik Sinner loses his match against Holger Rune

World No.1 Novak Djokovic had won the match against Pole Hubert Hurkacz in three sets. The outcome in itself is favorable for the Serb. However, him not winning in straight sets proves to be a challenge. This puts his future at the ATP Finals completely in the hands of Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune.

Novak Djokovic (1)
Novak Djokovic (Image Credits: Telegraph)

The Serb will be able to make the final four at Turin only if Rune defeats the home hero. While the loss does not affect Sinner in any way, considering he has a sufficient set record for his group, it will stop the Serb from making it to the semi-final. Djokovic’s current set-record is 5-4 at 55.55%.

Rune on the other hand, if he wins, his worst case set record will be 5-3 at 62.5%. Sinner is safe either way, since even if he loses in straight sets, he will have a set record of 4-3 at 57.14%.

This scenario indicates that the Serb will really have to hope Jannik Sinner will win if he wishes to move on to the final four. However, the match between Sinner and Rune will be quite unpredictable. Both players are playing their best tennis at the moment. The scales may tip on any side. Therefore, the Serb will have to anxiously wait until the match is done.

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