Eurosport expert Mats Wilander has backed “big-time, big player” Jannik Sinner to win the ATP World Tour Finals in Turin. 

The season-ending tournament takes place on Italian soil, and will suit the world No. 1 down to a tee as he settles in for a home event. 

Sinner avoided Carlos Alcaraz in the group phase, drawn in the opposite group to the reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion.

Sinner has not played since the ‘King of Kings’ tournament in Saudi Arabia, as he preserves his fitness and energy for the big season finale in Turin, where Novak Djokovic will not compete due to injury.

Eurosport pundit Wilander believes that Sinner is the “big favourite” heading into the tournament, but that there will be plenty of pressure on the 23-year-old in front of his home crowd. The Swede suggested that Sinner could harness it, though, in the same way that Andy Murray did to win Wimbledon. 

“Jannik Sinner is the big favourite,” Wilander said. 

“I think it has to do with the fact that this year has been unbelievable. He won the two hard-court Grand Slams that we had, and he won another five tournaments. Also, it’s back in Italy. If this happened last year, I think there’d be a lot of pressure on him. 

“But he already showed up last year, beating Novak [Djokovic] in the Round Robin, and of course, losing in the final. But he made it to the final, and then he won the Davis Cup. So I think in terms of pressure from his home fans, he’s using it the way Andy Murray used the Wimbledon crowd, which is going to give him inspiration. 

“It’s going to actually make him more relaxed at the same time as more fired up in a way. Sinner goes in with a lot to lose, but I think he’s got way more to win because he’s back in Italy. Of course, we had Boris Becker playing the ATP Finals back in Germany. We had John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors playing the ATP Finals in those days. It was called the Grand Prix at Madison Square Garden. They all did well when they had the crowd with them. 

“I think Sinner is going to have the same destiny in terms of playing well. Now, Carlos Alcaraz. How can you ever be considered the favourite when Alcaraz is in the field? But he might not have to play him. Therefore, he’s the favourite.”

Wilander has been impressed with the way the top seed has been able to bounce back from injury setbacks. The Italian still won two of the four major titles this season despite numerous lay-offs. 

“Sinner is very difficult to know at this stage because he’s had some injuries,” Wilander added. “Obviously, he’s trying to put a lot of muscle on and get stronger. The question is, when you do that, can your body handle it? I’m a firm believer that your natural body shape is what your joints and what your bones can handle. If you add five, 10, 15 kilos of muscle, can your body still handle it?

“In general, not just physically, but also mentally and in terms of viruses and illnesses and whatever. He’s had a lot of injuries. He’s had a lot of issues. How has he won seven tournaments in 2024 when he’s had issues pretty much the whole year, back and forth?”

Wilander added that Sinner’s major titles have made him a “big-time, big match player”, something he did not see the Italian becoming as he progressed up the rankings. 

“It goes to show he’s a big, big, big time, big match player,” Wilander said. 

“That’s one thing that I was not sure about a few years ago. I knew Alcaraz was. Now it’s very, very clear. Sinner is a big time, big match player a la Novak Djokovic, more so than Alcaraz in a way, because Sinner shows up, plays the same way, except better when the pressure is on, and he doesn’t have any dips in his tennis throughout the whole tournament of the US Open or throughout the whole of the Australian Open. 

“He is the favourite [in Turin]. But again, can his body handle another tough week of five matches against the top eight in the world? That is not easy.”