Jannik Sinner sees off Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets to defend ATP Finals title
On his favourite surface and before a rowdy home crowd, Jannik Sinner closed out his immense season with a statement victory against his great rival Carlos Alcaraz, putting together a supreme performance to defeat the Spaniard 7-6 (4), 7-5 and successfully defend his title at the ATP Finals in Turin,Despite his season being slightly abbreviated because of his three‑month doping ban, and Alcaraz seizing the year-end No 1 ranking with a legendary year of his own, Sinner finishes 2025 with six titles, a 58-6 win-loss record and three of the five biggest titles in the year,Sinner is also, without doubt, the dominant player on indoor hard courts,The Italian has now won 31 consecutive matches on the surface dating back to the starring role he played in Italy’s Davis Cup triumph in 2023,At 24 he is the youngest man to defend an ATP Finals title since Roger Federer in 2004 and just the second man after Novak Djokovic to win this title consecutively without dropping a set.
Perhaps most importantly, Sinner struck back after absorbing so many difficult blows in his rivalry with Alcaraz this year.While Sinner has compiled an 85-2 record against the rest of the field dating back to last August, he had lost seven of his past eight matches against Alcaraz, his only victory coming in the Wimbledon final.He will head into the new season having levelled the playing field against his biggest rival.The final months of Sinner’s season, which ends with three titles and a 15-match winning run, have underlined the Italian’s work ethic and desperation to improve.Immediately after his defeat by Alcaraz at the US Open, Sinner was transparent about his beliefs that he needed to make significant changes to his game in order to tackle Alcaraz’s unique brand of unpredictable variety.
He has spent the past few months carefully working more drop shots and net forays into his game,After a dire serving display in New York, Sinner made adjustments to his service technique and this week those improvements played a decisive role in this victory,In the face of Alcaraz’s net forays deep in the first-set tie-break, Sinner continued to think clearly under pressure and the significant risks he took behind his second serve on key points paid off,Both players burst into the match serving precisely and eviscerating the ball in their desperation to take the first strike, their combined intensity and quality so much higher than any other match this week,Not even a 10-minute break because of a medical emergency in the crowd, with the spectator eventually being escorted out while conscious and moving, slowed their rapid momentum.
After an hour of relentless first‑strike tennis, it looked like Alcaraz might set himself apart with his variation.At 6-5 on Sinner’s serve, he followed up his first drop‑shot of the match, a perfectly timed winner, with an intelligent foray to the net to reach set point.Sinner responded immediately, firing down a spectacular winning 116mph second serve to scupper the Spaniard’s opportunity before serving brilliantly to force a tie-break.At the end of a monumental 79‑minute set, Sinner played with clarity, executing two brilliant lobs over a net rushing Alcaraz to seal the set.Sign up to The RecapThe best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend’s actionafter newsletter promotionMidway through the first set, Alcaraz had pulled up with tightness in his right hamstring before receiving a medical time out.
His hamstring was taped up before the second set.Although Alcaraz broke serve early in set two, remaining solid in an erratic Sinner service game, he clearly lacked his usual explosiveness with his forward movement.An even bigger problem for Alcaraz, however, was his desperate rival across the net.As the wild Italian crowd chanted Sinner’s name, the occasion inspired the most expressive version of the Italian, who is usually so composed in the biggest moments.He celebrated epic points by cupping hands to his ears or raising his racket high to the crowd, asking for even more noise from his captive audience.
He refused to let the opportunity pass him by, nervelessly shutting the door on Alcaraz in two immense sets to end his season with a perfect result,
Reeves could allow holiday tax on English hotel and Airbnb stays
British holidaymakers could have to pay a nightly tax on hotel stays and Airbnb-style visits in plans expected to be announced by Rachel Reeves in the budget next week.The chancellor is reportedly preparing to give mayors powers to raise taxes by charging tourists on the cost of an overnight stay in their cities.The tax could raise hundreds of millions of pounds for mayors to invest in transport and public services, but it would represent a further blow for the hospitality industry, which was squeezed by tax rises and extra employment costs announced in the last budget.The trade body UKHospitality, which represents thousands of restaurants, hotels and pubs, said a tourism tax of 5% – the rate to be set by Edinburgh from next July – would mean an effective consumer tax of 27%. That figure includes standard 20% VAT on the hotel stay, as well as VAT on the holiday tax itself, making it one of the highest tourist tax rates in Europe, the trade body said
Thames Water bidder says it is offering £1bn extra cash injection
A bidder for Thames Water has said it would inject £1bn more into the struggling utility company than rival proposals if it gained control.John Reynolds, the chief executive of the independent water retailer Castle Water, said the current plans under discussion with creditors to rebuild Thames Water’s finances does not go far enough and does not properly address its environmental crisis.Castle Water would provide a cash injection of at least £1bn over current proposals, he told the Times.“No one wants a restructuring that does not stick. The negotiations are not heading anywhere,” he said
Father of teen whose death was linked to social media has ‘lost faith’ in Ofcom
The father of Molly Russell, a British teenager who killed herself after viewing harmful online content, has called for a change in leadership at the UK’s communications watchdog after losing faith in its ability to make the internet safer for children.Ian Russell, whose 14 year-old daughter took her own life in 2017, said Ofcom had “repeatedly” demonstrated that it does not grasp the urgency of keeping under-18s safe online and was failing to implement new digital laws forcefully.“I’ve lost confidence in the current leadership at Ofcom,” he told the Guardian. “They have repeatedly demonstrated that they don’t grasp the urgency of this task and they have shown that they don’t seem to be willing to use their powers to the extent that is required.”Russell’s comments came in the same week the technology secretary, Liz Kendall, wrote to Ofcom saying she was “deeply concerned” about delays in rolling out parts of the Online Safety Act (OSA), a landmark piece of legislation laying down safety rules for social media, search and video platforms
Personal details of Tate galleries job applicants leaked online
Personal details submitted by applicants for a job at Tate art galleries have been leaked online, exposing their addresses, salaries and the phone numbers of their referees, the Guardian has learned.The records, running to hundreds of pages, appeared on a website unrelated to the government-sponsored organisation, which operates the Tate Modern and Tate Britain galleries in London, Tate St Ives in Cornwall and Tate Liverpool.The data includes details of applicants’ current employers and education, and relates to the Tate’s hunt for a website developer in October 2023. Information about 111 individuals is included. They are not named but their referees are, sometimes with mobile numbers and personal email addresses
Déjà boo: Sam Darnold didn’t think he’d see ghosts on the field again. Then he faced the Rams
The Seahawks quarterback has looked like an MVP this season. But his old failings returned in Los Angeles on SundayThe biggest game of Week 11 was undoubtedly the matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and the Seattle Seahawks. Both teams came in with 7-2 records, and were seemingly evenly matched on both sides of the ball, with dynamic offenses and stingy defenses. In the end, it was a defensive battle that the Rams won, 21-19, by the skin of their teeth.Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, who had played at a near-MVP level this season for the most part, did absolutely nothing to help his team – and plenty to hurt them
England keep sights on rugby’s Everest in relentless climb to game’s summit | Robert Kitson
After finally scaling Mount Everest with Tenzing Norgay on 29 May 1953 the first person Edmund Hillary encountered on his descent was his longtime climbing friend, George Lowe. “Well, George,” Hillary said, “we knocked the bastard off.” Which is basically how England’s captain, Maro Itoje, and his team felt on Saturday having lifted the Hillary Shield, named in honour of the indomitable New Zealander who conquered the world’s most famous summit.English rugby’s ultimate Everest is still up ahead of them, of course, in the form of the 2027 World Cup, but this was their South Col moment. And while a first home win against the All Blacks since 2012 and their second‑highest margin of victory in this 120-year-old fixture will both be sources of satisfaction there was also a powerful sense that their upwardly mobile trek is far from complete
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