Jannik Sinner's form showed no sign of waning after he turned on the style in front of his home fans to trounce Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 at the ATP Finals on Tuesday.
In a high-quality contest in Turin, world No 1 Sinner overcame a fierce challenge from American rival Fritz, who pushed him all the way and held the upper hand at the key moment.
Yet his consistency and relentless level of brilliance saw him find a route to victory, as he admitted it was a tough battle.
"It was a very tough match," said Sinner afterwards. "We got to know each other very well in a Grand Slam final (US Open in September). We knew exactly what to expect today, he was very aggressive and I was prepared.
"I just tried to serve very well in the important moments, which I did. That was a very crucial (seventh) game in the second set, I was down 0-30. If he breaks me there, the momentum could change.
"In the return positions his quality of tennis was very, very high so I was struggling to return his serve but I was happy with the situation and it was a very important day for me today and I'm very happy that I got through."
The victory saw Sinner secure his 47th win on hard courts in 2024, with that impressive number including the 14 wins that allowed him to win his first major title at the Australian Open and his maiden US Open title over the course of this year.
He also joined Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as the only players in the Open Era of the game to win 47 or more matches in consecutive seasons on hard courts.
Federer achieved that feat when he was at his dominant best in 2005 and 2006, while Djokovic achieved that mammoth number of wins on hard courts in 2012 and 2013, before he repeated it in 2015 and 2016.
Sinner appears to have fully recovered from the virus that forced him to pull out of the Paris Masters earlier this month and with his great rival Carlos Alcaraz now struggling with an illness, the world No 1 has to be the favourite to win the ATP Finals title for the first time.
"Taylor Fritz's tennis was very, very impressive," former British No 1 Tim Hemman told Sky Sports Tennis. "There were 20 games and in 18 of them, it was so, so tight.
"If anything there were times when Fritz had the upper-hand but he was never able to create the full chance from the half chance and when Sinner got his opportunity at the end of each set he was able to take it.
"The scoreboard pressure of serving first in each set gave Sinner that advantage. It's another impressive win for Sinner."
Sinner's second win in this year's ATP Finals ensured he has now won 23 of his last 24 matches and he will aim to beat Daniil Medvedev on Thursday to top his group and head into Saturday's semi-finals with his sights set on another title.
