section_path: Professional career/2019: NextGen Finals title and top 100
section_name: 2019: NextGen Finals title and top 100
paragraph_text: 2019: NextGen Finals title and top 100
  
  Sinner won his first ATP Challenger title in Bergamo in February 2019 at the age of 17 years and 6 months, despite entering the tournament with no match wins at the Challenger level. He became the first person born in 2001 to reach a Challenger final, and the youngest Italian to win a Challenger title in history. With the title, he rose over 200 spots in ATP rankings up to No. 324.
  
  After his first two ITF Futures titles, Sinner entered his first ATP tournament at the Hungarian Open as a lucky loser, where he notched his first tour-level win over home wild card Máté Valkusz. The next week, he reached his second ATP Challenger final in Ostrava, finishing runner-up to Kamil Majchrzak.
  
  During the second half of the season Sinner played more often on the ATP Tour than the Challenger Tour. His first ATP Masters victory came at the Italian Open against Steve Johnson, and he broke into the top 200 with his next ATP win at the Croatia Open Umag in July. The next month, he won a second ATP Challenger title in Lexington to become one of just eleven 17-year-olds to have won multiple Challenger titles. After losing in qualifying at Wimbledon, Sinner qualified for his first Grand Slam main draw at the US Open. He lost his debut match to No. 24 Stan Wawrinka.
  
  Sinner had a strong finish to the season. As a wild card at the European Open, he became the youngest player in five years to reach an ATP semifinal. Along the way, he knocked off top seed and world No. 13 Gaël Monfils for his first career top 50 victory. This performance helped him break into the top 100 for the first time one week later. At the end of the season, Sinner qualified for the 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals as the Italian wild card and the lowest seed. He won in his round robin group with victories over Frances Tiafoe and Mikael Ymer, losing only to Ugo Humbert.
  
  After defeating Miomir Kecmanović in the semifinals, Sinner upset top seed and world No. 18 Alex de Minaur in straight sets to win the title. He played one last event in Italy the following week, winning a third Challenger title in Ortisei. Sinner finished the year at world No. 78, becoming the youngest player in the year-end top 80 since Rafael Nadal in 2003. He was also named ATP Newcomer of the Year. and received the Gazzetta Sport Award for Best Performance of the Year for his win over de Minaur in the Next Gen ATP Finals.
  
  Sinner won his first ATP Challenger title in Bergamo in February 2019 at the age of 17 years and 6 months, despite entering the tournament with no match wins at the Challenger level. He became the first person born in 2001 to reach a Challenger final, and the youngest Italian to win a Challenger title in history. With the title, he rose over 200 spots in ATP rankings up to No. 324.
  
  After his first two ITF Futures titles, Sinner entered his first ATP tournament at the Hungarian Open as a lucky loser, where he notched his first tour-level win over home wild card Máté Valkusz. The next week, he reached his second ATP Challenger final in Ostrava, finishing runner-up to Kamil Majchrzak.
  
  During the second half of the season Sinner played more often on the ATP Tour than the Challenger Tour. His first ATP Masters victory came at the Italian Open against Steve Johnson, and he broke into the top 200 with his next ATP win at the Croatia Open Umag in July. The next month, he won a second ATP Challenger title in Lexington to become one of just eleven 17-year-olds to have won multiple Challenger titles. After losing in qualifying at Wimbledon, Sinner qualified for his first Grand Slam main draw at the US Open. He lost his debut match to No. 24 Stan Wawrinka.
  
  Sinner had a strong finish to the season. As a wild card at the European Open, he became the youngest player in five years to reach an ATP semifinal. Along the way, he knocked off top seed and world No. 13 Gaël Monfils for his first career top 50 victory. This performance helped him break into the top 100 for the first time one week later. At the end of the season, Sinner qualified for the 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals as the Italian wild card and the lowest seed. He won in his round robin group with victories over Frances Tiafoe and Mikael Ymer, losing only to Ugo Humbert.
  
  After defeating Miomir Kecmanović in the semifinals, Sinner upset top seed and world No. 18 Alex de Minaur in straight sets to win the title. He played one last event in Italy the following week, winning a third Challenger title in Ortisei. Sinner finished the year at world No. 78, becoming the youngest player in the year-end top 80 since Rafael Nadal in 2003. He was also named ATP Newcomer of the Year. and received the Gazzetta Sport Award for Best Performance of the Year for his win over de Minaur in the Next Gen ATP Finals.