The ATP season is coming to an end, although the Paris-Bercy Masters 1000 and the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin are still the most important events. The big dominator of the season was definitely Jannik Sinner, who won seven titles this year, including two Majors and three Masters 1000.
The Italian ace has been impressive throughout the season, suffering only six defeats from January to date. For this reason, the 23-year-old from San Candido has a considerable advantage over his great rival Carlos Alcaraz who – despite having won the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships – did not have the same regularity.
The 21-year-old from Murcia was held back by some physical problems during the spring and suffered a lot after losing to Novak Djokovic in the final of the Paris Olympics, leaving the scene prematurely at the US Open. Sinner and Alcaraz will be among the stars of the ‘Six Kings Slam’ in Saudi Arabia, a very rich exhibition with a prize money of 6 million for the winner of the event. Both will play the Paris-Bercy Masters 1000 before the ATP Finals, while they decided to skip the ATP 500 respectively in Vienna and Basel to recover their energy.
The ATP Finals are close
The two young champions could also face each other in the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, if Italy and Spain qualify for the final. The last tournaments on the ATP calendar will be important in defining the eight participants at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. Three spots already allocated, two almost defined and the remaining three all to be decided.
The fight for access to the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin is on in the run-up to the final round of the season. Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev are already certain to be the protagonists of the Masters tournament scheduled from 10 to 17 November. Everyone else is still not sure of the qualification.
Daniil Medvedev, in fourth place, could get the pass in the next ATP 500 in Vienna (there are about 100 points to miss from the current limit, ready to go down as the days go by). Also close to Taylor Fritz, US Open finalist and semi-finalist in the last competition played in Shanghai. Novak Djokovic himself seems to see Turin after the final reached in the Chinese Master 1000: the Serbian champion, although he said that he did not have the Finals among his main priorities, rose to 3910 and dropped out of the ninth place of about 600 points. A gap that could be enough, especially if it were to be at the starting line of Paris-Bercy.
It’s a very open battle for the seventh and eighth places. Casper Ruud is not in a great shape period and Andrey Rublev himself is not shining. The Australian Alex de Minaur, currently ninth, is recovering from an injury and it is not clear which events he will participate in this final phase of the year. An important opportunity for Grigor Dimitrov, Tommy Paul and Stefanos Tsitsipas, who are expected to make extremely important results to regain the disadvantage. The ATP 250 in Almaty, Antwerp and Stockholm, scheduled this week, will be able to give the best indications.
Jannik Sinner 10330 (qualified)
Carlos Alcaraz 6710 (qualified)
Alexander Zverev 6215 (qualified)
Daniil Medvedev 4820
Taylor Fritz 4290
Novak Djokovic 3910
Casper Ruud 3805
Andrey Rublev 3580
Alex de Minaur 3305
Grigor Dimitrov 2935
Tommy Paul 2885
Stefanos Tsitsipas 2835
Djokovic may not be in Turin
To be honest, Djokovic’s presence at the ATP Finals is very uncertain. During the Davis Cup weekend in September, the Serbian ace admitted that the finals are not a goal at this point of his career and did not exclude being able to close the season early. The 24-time Grand Slam champion could close his 2024 after the ‘Six Kings Slam‘ in Saudi Arabia, missing the Paris-Bercy Masters 1000 and the ATP Finals.
After the Shanghai final against Jannik Sinner, Nole opened up on his season: “Well, I mean, comparing to most of my seasons throughout my career this has been one of the worst-performing seasons in terms of results. But, you know, it was going to come at some point where, you know, I wouldn’t win Slams and maintain that highest level for so many years in a row. I’m happy with my gold medal from Olympics. That was the main goal for this year. And, you know, of course I wish that I could have gotten at least a Grand Slam title or won big title, but it’s fine, you know, it is what it is. It’s one of those seasons you have to accept, and I am more than happy with everything I have achieved in my career.”