Sinner stays perfect and Fritz also advances to the semifinals at the ATP Finals

TURIN, Italy (AP) — He’s got a stranglehold on the No. 1 ranking. He’s unbeaten this week and hasn’t dropped a set. And his home Italian fans can’t get enough of him.

Things couldn’t get much better for Jannik Sinner at the ATP Finals so far — despite an ongoing doping case that likely won't be decided until early next year.

Sinner and U.S. Open finalist Taylor Fritz advanced to the semifinals on Thursday at the season-ending tournament for the year's top eight players.

Sinner won the round-robin group after a 6-3, 6-4 victory over 2020 champion Daniil Medvedev; and Fritz advanced in second after rallying past Alex de Minaur 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.

Sinner was already assured of a spot in the last four before his match against Medvedev but still extended his winning streak to nine matches. Sinner beat Fritz in the U.S. Open final in September for his second Grand Slam title.

Sinner is playing at home for the first time since it was announced before his U.S. Open title that he tested positive in two separate drug tests this year.

A decision to clear Sinner of wrongdoing was appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency in September and a final ruling in the case is expected in 2025.

Medvedev, who won one of three matches, and De Minaur, who didn't win any, were eliminated.

Last year, Sinner lost the final to Novak Djokovic, who pulled out injured this year.

Alexander Zverev leads the other group ahead of Casper Ruud, Carlos Alcaraz and Andrey Rublev.

Sinner took the edge in his career meetings with Medvedev at 8-7 — after Medvedev swept their first six matches.

Fritz improved to 4-5 in his career against De Minaur and could pull level next week in a quarterfinal matchup between the United States and Australia at the Davis Cup Finals.

“I feel like he typically plays better in the team environment. I also feel like I play better in the team environment," Fritz said. "It’s still going to be a nightmare to play him next week, too.”

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Italy's Jannik Sinner serves the ball to Russia's Daniil Medvedev during their singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals at the Inalpi Arena, in Turin, Italy, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Russia's Daniil Medvedev returns the ball to Italy's Jannik Sinner during their singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals at the Inalpi Arena, in Turin, Italy, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Italy's Jannik Sinner returns the ball to Russia's Daniil Medvedev during their singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals at the Inalpi Arena, in Turin, Italy, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Russia's Daniil Medvedev returns the ball to Italy's Jannik Sinner during their singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals at the Inalpi Arena, in Turin, Italy, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Italy's Jannik Sinner returns the ball to Russia's Daniil Medvedev during their singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals at the Inalpi Arena, in Turin, Italy, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

United States' Taylor Fritz reacts after winning a point against Australia's Alex de Minaur during their singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals at the Inalpi Arena, in Turin, Italy, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

United States' Taylor Fritz returns the ball to Australia's Alex de Minaur during their singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals at the Inalpi Arena, in Turin, Italy, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

United States' Taylor Fritz serves the ball to Australia's Alex de Minaur during their singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals at the Inalpi Arena, in Turin, Italy, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Australia's Alex de Minaur returns the ball to United States' Taylor Fritz during their singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals at the Inalpi Arena, in Turin, Italy, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

United States' Taylor Fritz returns the ball to Australia's Alex de Minaur during their singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals at the Inalpi Arena, in Turin, Italy, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

United States' Taylor Fritz returns the ball to Australia's Alex de Minaur during their singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals at the Inalpi Arena, in Turin, Italy, Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Republicans have won enough seats to control the U.S. House, completing the party’s sweep into power and securing their hold on U.S. government alongside President-elect Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, Trump's pick of conservative loyalist Matt Gaetz to serve as attorney general has Democrats sounding the alarm with Sen. Dick Durbin saying Gaetz “would be a disaster” in part because of Trump’s threat to use the Justice Department “to seek revenge on his political enemies.”

Follow the AP’s Election 2024 coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.

Here’s the latest:

President-elect Donald Trump is expected to nominate anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr to serve as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, according to two people familiar with the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity.

HHS is a massive Cabinet agency that oversees everything from drug, vaccine and food safety to medical research and the social safety net programs Medicare and Medicaid.

Kennedy, a former Democrat who ran as an independent in this year’s presidential race, abandoned his bid after striking a deal to give Trump his endorsement with a promise to have a role in health policy in the administration.

He and Trump have since become good friends, with Kennedy frequently receiving loud applause at Trump’s rallies.

— Jill Colvin

Though it’s not clear if Dimon was interested in a role. The announcement came as Trump has not yet named a Treasury Secretary for his incoming administration or others to fill economic and banking related roles.

Dimon had no plans to join Trump’s administration, according to news reports in recent weeks.

Trump, in a post on his social media network Truth Social on Thursday, said he respects Dimon “greatly” but “he will not be invited to be a part of the Trump Administration.”

“I thank Jamie for his outstanding service to our Country!” Trump added.

In a July interview with Bloomberg, Trump said Dimon was someone he was considering for Treasury Secretary. A few weeks later, he reversed himself, saying in a post on Truth Social that he didn’t know “who said it, or where it came from, perhaps the Radical Left, but I never discussed, or thought of, Jamie Dimon” for Treasury Secretary.

Republicans went to court in Pennsylvania on Thursday amid vote counting in the U.S. Senate election between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican David McCormick, as the campaigns prepare for a recount and press counties for favorable ballot-counting decisions.

The lawsuits ask courts not to allow counties to count mail-in ballots where the voter didn’t write a date on the return envelope or wrote an incorrect date. The two GOP suits could be among many before the last vote in the Senate race is counted, especially with the contest headed toward a state-mandated recount.

The Associated Press called the race for McCormick last week, concluding that not enough ballots remained to be counted in areas Casey was winning for him to take the lead.

After losing the White House and both houses of Congress, Democrats are grappling with how to handle transgender politics and policy following a campaign that featured withering and often misleading GOP attacks on the issue.

There's plenty of second-guessing after President-elect Donald Trump anchored his victory over Vice President Kamala Harris with sweeping promises on the economy and immigration. But Democrats also won't soon forget the punchline in anti-transgender Trump ads that became ubiquitous by Election Day: “Kamala is for they/them; President Trump is for you.”

“Week by week when that ad hit and stuck and we didn’t respond, I think that was the beginning of the end,” former Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said of the 30-second spot that was part of $215 million in anti-transgender advertising by Trump and Republicans, according to tracking firm AdImpact.

Kentucky U.S. Sen. Rand Paul said Thursday that he'll lead the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, where he intends to immediately take up President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to reinstate a policy requiring asylum-seekers to wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court.

Paul said he'll be the committee’s new chair after Republicans won control of the Senate in this month’s elections. The new role will put Paul — a limited-government advocate and longtime skeptic of surveillance programs — in charge of a committee with broad jurisdiction over government operations, including the Department of Homeland Security. Paul has been the committee’s ranking Republican during Democratic control of the Senate.

Democrat Janelle Bynum won election to a U.S. House seat representing Oregon on Thursday, defeating Republican Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer.

The district, which includes the Portland suburbs and stretches through Bend, was a top target for Democrats. Democrats lost this seat in 2022, when Jamie McLeod-Skinner defeated seven-term Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader in the primary but lost the general election. The district took in parts of more conservative central Oregon after 2022 redistricting.

Bynum represents Happy Valley and North Clackamas in the state Legislature. The Associated Press declared Bynum the winner at 12:47 p.m. EST.

Republican and Democratic senators alike on the Judiciary Committee that would review Matt Gaetz’s attorney general nomination are calling for a House Ethics Committee investigation into Gaetz to be made available to them.

“I think it’s going to be material in the proceedings,” said Sen. Thomas Tillis, a North Carolina Republican.

Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, said, “I think there should not be any limitation on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigation, including whatever the House Ethics Committee has generated.”

Sen. Dick Durbin, the Democrat who currently chairs the Judiciary Committee, earlier Thursday said in a statement, “We cannot allow this valuable information from a bipartisan investigation to be hidden from the American people.”

Thune did not mention Matt Gaetz, Tulsi Gabbard or other Trump picks that have raised deep concerns among several senators.

But he said senators should expect “an aggressive schedule until his nominees are confirmed.”

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is calling on the House Ethics Committee to preserve information it's gathered on former Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, President-elect Donald Trump’s intended nominee for attorney general, and also share it with the Senate.

Trump announced Gaetz as his pick for the post Wednesday and Gaetz immediately resigned from Congress, ending the investigation against him. The ethics panel said several months ago that its review included whether Gaetz engaged in sexual misconduct and illicit drug use, accepted improper gifts and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct. Gaetz has categorically denied all the allegations before the committee.

“The sequence and timing of Mr. Gaetz’s resignation from the House raises serious questions about the contents of the House Ethics Committee report,” Durbin said Thursday. “We cannot allow this valuable information from a bipartisan investigation to be hidden from the American people.”

The Democrat looking to unseat an incumbent Republican in a close Iowa congressional race, one of a handful yet to be called after Republicans won control of the U.S. House, has asked for a recount.

Democrat Christina Bohannan’s campaign on Thursday requested the recount in her bid against Republican incumbent Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks to represent Iowa’s 1st District. The initial tally puts Bohannan fewer than 1,000 votes — less than a percentage point — behind Miller-Meeks.

The contest is a much tighter rematch of 2022, when Miller-Meeks won by 7 percentage points. Miller-Meeks earned a first term in Congress representing Iowa’s 2nd District when she defeated Democrat Rita Hart by just six votes in 2020.

FILE - The speaker's dais is seen in the House of Representatives of the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 28, 2022. In the 2024 elections, Republicans have won enough seats to control the U.S. House, completing the party's sweep into power and securing their hold on U.S. government alongside President-elect Donald Trump. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FILE - Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC 2024, at the National Harbor, in Oxon Hill, Md., Feb. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at meeting of the House GOP conference, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

FILE - The chamber of the House of Representatives is seen at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 28, 2022. In the 2024 elections, Republicans have won enough seats to control the U.S. House, completing the party's sweep into power and securing their hold on U.S. government alongside President-elect Donald Trump. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)