Sinner basking in spotlight with Next Gen ATP Finals win

Italian teenager Jannik Sinner admitted he felt like Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal as he basked in the spotlight after defeating top-seed Australian Alex de Minaur in straight sets to win the Next Gen ATP Finals on home soil in Milan.

The 18-year-old Sinner, an eighth-seeded wildcard, saved nine break points to win 4-2, 4-1, 4-2 in just over an hour against 18th-ranked De Minaur, who also lost last year's final to Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The tournament, which began in 2017, features the eight best players aged 21-and-under on the ATP Tour.

And Sinner came in as a late wild card after a season when he rose almost 500 places to break into the Top 100.

The player from the north of Italy, near the border with Austria, was basking in the spotlight at the hysterical support from the home crowd.

"It's something different," he said.

"I never had this kind of support, even on court. I don't know if Roger or Rafa are still enjoying these kind of things.

"I'm young and I'm enjoying it."
"I played better and better with each game."
"If I had converted some of those break points early it would have been a completely different match."
"I'm happy to be able to sit down and know that I finished the year 18 in the world. Now I've got the Davis Cup to look forward to."