Jannik Sinner continues to rack up milestones as he is set to become the first Italian to be the top seed at an ATP Masters 1000 event.
The reigning Australian Open champion has been bumped up to top seed as he benefitted from Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal from next week’s Madrid Open.
The Serbian has been top of the ATP Rankings since September 2023 and it means he has been the top seed at every tournament he has entered. Alcaraz occupied the second spot in the rankings until the Miami Open with Sinner replacing him following his title run.
With Djokovic also playing at the Monte Carlo Masters, it meant Sinner was seeded second.
However, the 22-year-old will be the first name on the draw sheet for next week’s Madrid Open after Djokovic opted to withdraw from the tournament for non-medical reasons.
Although Sinner is the first Italian man to be top seed at an ATP Masters 1000 event, the great Adriano Panatta also achieved a similar feat at the Italian Open, but that was in 1977 when it was still part of the Grand Prix Super Series.
The ATP Tour rebranded the series in 1990 with the top-tier events after the Grand Slams known as the ATP Masters 1000 tournaments.
For Sinner it is another feather in his cap this year as he won his maiden major at the Australian Open in January, defeating Daniil Medvedev in the final to become the first Italian player – male or female – to win the title at Melbourne Park.
Following his Miami Open title run, he became the highest-ranked player from Italy as he rose to No 2 in the ATP Rankings.
Sinner is 24-2 in 2024 as he has won the Australian Open, Rotterdam Open and Miami Open with his only two defeats coming in the semi-final of the Indian Wells Open against Alcaraz and the last four of the Monte Carlo Masters.
The Italian will spearhead the draw ahead of Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, Hubert Hurkacz, Grigor Dimitrov and Alex de Minaur.
A title run in the Spanish capital will boost Sinner’s chances of replacing Djokovic at the top of the ATP Rankings after the Italian Open. Sinner missed last year’s Madrid Open and he only has 90 points to defend in Rome.
Djokovic, meanwhile, has 180 points to defend in Italy and if Sinner enjoys a run to the final in both Madrid and Rome then he could become the new world No 1.