Jannik Sinner Denies Novak Djokovic $390,000 Payday But Gives Him $1,105,000 Lifeline After Beating Holger Rune at ATP Finals 2023

Jannik Sinner is on a roll at the ATP Finals 2023, virtually dictating the results of his group’s matches on his home turf. The World No.4 won all his matches, with the most special one being the first of his career against World No.1, Novak Djokovic. The most remarkable fact about the group standings is that Djokovic had to depend on his conqueror, Sinner winning his last match of the group against Rune to qualify for the semifinals.

Interestingly, each player in the men’s singles category is awarded $390,000 for winning one round-robin match. While Jannik Sinner has crossed the $1 million mark in the competition, Novak Djokovic was on the verge of crashing out and would have taken home just $780,000.

Sinner denied Djokovic another $390,000 with his win. However, the Italian star decided to play his best game even though he didn’t need to in his final match against Holger Rune. Sinner’s win meant that Djokovic took the second semifinalist’s spot from the group, making him still a favorite to defend his ATP Finals title from last year.

That win was more than enough to also ensure that Jannik Sinner funnily made up with Novak Djokovic after defeating him. Instead of taking home just $780,000, Djokovic could win $1,105,000 by defeating his opponent in the semifinals. His final earnings will also include $325,500 because he participated in all 3 round robin matches in the game, making him a strong candidate to nearly win $1.5 million.

Novak Djokovic’s opponent will be Carlos Alcaraz, who has topped the other group’s standings. And Jannik Sinner himself stands to win $1,105,000 or more and looks to be the favorite in winning the most out of all players.

Jannik Sinner to play Daniil Medvedev again

Jannik Sinner has a glorious opportunity to bag his third win in a row in 2023 against Daniil Medvedev. Sinner and Medvedev will be playing each other for the third time in 9 weeks, having clashed in Beijing and Vienna recently. The Italian will have home conditions, crowd and recent wins behind him to make it to the finals.

On the other hand, losing a round robin match to Carlos Alcaraz was the last thing Daniil Medvedev needed before playing a semifinal of such high stakes. Although in semifinals, Medvedev is not known to lose too many matches on any surface. If Medvedev loses, Alcaraz will remain No.2 in the rankings for sure, making it a must-win for the Russian not just for the title but also to make it to the top 2 of the year-end ATP rankings.