It was the news that many feared, but no one wanted to hear.
Doubts began circling around Jannik Sinner’s participation at the Olympic Games on Tuesday, after reports suggested he was delaying his arrival in Paris due to a “fever”.
Now, the world No 1 has confirmed that he has been suffering from tonsilitis, and will not be heading to the French capital for his Olympic debut.
It is the first time since Pete Sampras in 2000 that the current ATP world No 1 has not played at the Olympics, and it changes the dynamics of the men’s draw significantly.
We take you through how this affects Thursday’s men’s singles draw.
Djokovic and Alcaraz benefit
Sinner’s withdrawal is not what Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz would have wanted to see, but both men have undoubtedly benefitted from it.
Up until today, Djokovic was set to be the second seed, while Alcaraz was set to be the third seed – and drawn into the same half as one of Sinner or the Serbian.
Now, world No 2 Djokovic will be the top seed while his Spanish rival will be the second seed.
This ensures that the two men – who contested the Wimbledon final less than two weeks ago – cannot meet until the gold medal match, or potentially the bronze medal match.
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Who else moves up?
Sinner’s withdrawal has a knock-on effect throughout the rest of the men’s singles draw.
One of those to benefit is Daniil Medvedev, who will be competing as a neutral athlete in Paris.
The world No 5 was meant to be the fifth seed at the Games but will now be seeded fourth, and cannot face Djokovic, Alcaraz, or third seed Alexander Zverev until the last four.
Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas will now be seeded eighth and be the highest-ranked player in one-eighth of the draw, and will not be projected to face anyone ranked above him until the quarter-finals.
Alex de Minaur will now be the fifth seed, with Casper Ruud seeded sixth and Taylor Fritz seventh, the latter two men already having moved up one spot after Hubert Hurkacz’s withdrawal on Tuesday.
Home stars Ugo Humbert and Arthur Fils will now be the 10th and 15th seeds respectively, while Alejandro Tabilo will now be seeded, the Chilean moving to No 16.
Men’s singles seeds after Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal (24th July 2024)
1) Novak Djokovic, Serbia
2) Carlos Alcaraz, Spain
3) Alexander Zverev, Germany
4) Daniil Medvedev, ANA
5) Alex de Minaur, Australia
6) Casper Ruud, Norway
7) Taylor Fritz, United States
8) Stefanos Tsitsipas, Greece
9) Tommy Paul, United States
10) Ugo Humbert, France
11) Holger Rune, Denmark
12) Lorenzo Musetti, Italy
13) Sebastian Baez, Argentina
14) Felix Auger-Aliassime, Canada
15) Arthur Fils, France
16) Alejandro Tabilo, Chile
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