The “Big Three” are now a thing of the past. With the withdrawal of Rafa Nadal it’s just Novak Djokovic who remains among the three tennis players with the most Grand Slam of history. The generational change has already arrived and everything indicates that this time it will be two and not three tennis players who will fight to occupy the throne in the years to come.
Carlos Alcaraz And Jannik sinner They are elected officials. Both shared the four ‘Majors‘ of the season and have been confirmed as the two best tennis players of 2024. And by far. They almost failed and imposed a game that was practically indecipherable for their rivals.
The Spaniard and the Italian grew up practically at the same time on the circuit and have a similar track record, with the exception of the two Grand Slams in front of the Murcian. However, last week it was Sinner who delivered the final blow to what could be a historic rivalry.
And Sinner qualified for the final of the Shanghai Masters 1000 beating a tough team in straight sets Machac who, precisely, was the executioner of Alcaraz in the quarter-finals. This will be their eighth final of the year and they will face each other Novak Djokovic.
Number 1
The victory against Machac was not a simple triumph. This meant the confirmation of Jannik Sinner as number 1 in the world rankings in 2024. An important step since no Italian tennis player would have managed to finish a year at the top of the ATP rankings. Sinner achieved this at just 23 years old. Almost nothing.
An entirely fair achievement given the tennis player’s stratospheric season Saint Candide. In addition to conquering the Australian Open and the US OpenSinner reached six more finals along the way. And he still has one left this Sunday against Djokovic.
🚨STORY MADE! 🚨
🇮🇹 Jannik Sinner claims No. 1 in the ATP Year-End presented by PIF, becoming the first Italian to achieve this historic feat! 🏆#PIF | #ATPRankings | #partner pic.twitter.com/1nKno7Gs0v
-ATP Tour (@atptour) October 12, 2024
He started the year with 16 consecutive victories and, despite a physical decline this summer and everything related to his doping, Sinner continued to focus on tennis and returned to his best in recent weeks. In fact, they have reached the final in the last four tournaments they have played.
No one can take away number 1 from him, but he still has several goals left before closing out the year. One of them is the ATP Finals in November, where he will try to make up for his defeat against “Nole” last year. Your other challenge will also take place in November with the final of the Davis Cup where he defends the title with Italy.
His pet peeve
Sinner will close 2024 as the best racket on the circuit, knocking Carlos Alcaraz from the top. A goal that the Spaniard had set for several months, but which he did not achieve due to the good performance of his rival.
And Sinner has been virtually insurmountable throughout the months. He only lost six matches out of the 70 he played, being the tennis player with the best numbers of the year. However, 50% of their losses have been against Alcaraz. The Murcian has become his pet peeve.
The Italian player has not managed to wet his opponent’s ear all season. Lost in semi-final Indian Wells Masters 1000fell in the same round in Roland-Garros and just a week ago he lost the final of the Beijing ATP 500. Three painful defeats which prevented him from having a much better year.
Sinner has not yet managed to overpower Alcaraz. He is the only tennis player in the top 10 with whom he lost face to face (4-6) and the rival who, after Medvedevhe won the most matches of his career. In 2024, they will be able to meet again and a possible Davis Cup final is on the horizon.
