Sinner retired from his previous tournament in Shanghai with severe cramp and said he arrived in Austria “quite late” as he bid to repeat his 2023 title success in Vienna.
He extended his winning streak on indoor hard courts to 20 matches, equalling Sir Andy Murray’s best run on the surface but still well short of John McEnroe’s 47.
“I tried to take every day in the best possible way,” added Sinner, who became the first man since Novak Djokovic in 2015-16 to appear in eight finals in successive seasons.
“It was not easy to [reach] the final here, so I’m very happy.
“I was trying to play some good tennis, trying to serve very well. The first set was very physical, so I’m happy that I won in two sets today.”
In Basel, 19-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca reached the first ATP 500 final of his career with a 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 victory over unseeded Spanish player Jaume Munar at the Swiss Indoors.
