Jannik Sinner has undoubtedly been the best ATP player in 2024. Carlos Alcaraz was the only man who consistently troubled him throughout the season.
Sinner won his maiden Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open and US Open this year. He triumphed against Daniil Medvedev in the Melbourne final from two sets down before beating Taylor Fritz in a one-sided final at Flushing Meadows.
The 23-year-old's other impressive achievements include winning the ATP Finals on home soil in Turin, helping Italy to secure back-to-back Davis Cup titles, and becoming the year-end world No. 1.
There was a common denominator at every ATP tournament that Sinner won in 2024: He did not play Alcaraz. The Spaniard dominated against his fellow young star in their matches this year.
Alcaraz recovered from losing the first set to triumph over Sinner at the Indian Wells Open in March. It was later discovered that the Italian tested positive for a banned substance at the tournament, but the amount was so negligible it did not impact his performances.
The pair's next meeting was in the French Open semifinal. After a five-set battle, Alcaraz prevailed 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Sinner began to struggle physically in the last set, which may have proved crucial.
Although the match at Roland Garros was entertaining, their highest-quality contest of 2024 came in the China Open final. After over three hours of grueling, exceptional rallies, Alcaraz eventually outlasted his rival.
Sinner's losing run against Alcaraz in 2024 ended a few weeks later in the final of the Six Kings Slam exhibition in Saudi Arabia. However, that match did not count in their official head-to-head since it was not an ATP tournament.
In an episode of his podcast, 2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick outlined how Sinner had dominated throughout the season on hard courts against everyone except Alcaraz and that the Spaniard stepped up on clay and grass to win the French Open and Wimbledon.
"He set the record in Turin, least amount of games ever lost in a world tour final. Putting beat downs on the best players in the world at the end of the season, all while having this case over his head. I mean running out of superlatives."
"He is the best player in the world when there is not something slippery under his feat, and I don't know it's up for question at this point. Clay is obviously very different, grass is very different."
"Carlos Alcaraz has risen on those things, Carlos didn't play a full season, he was injured a bunch of the times, we are gonna go a lot more in those match ups over time. He does have the game that bothers Sinner more than anyone else on planet earth in this current moment."
Consistently winning on clay and grass is the next stage of Sinner's development. His only title on either surface in 2024 came at the Halle Open in June. Becoming more dominant outside hard courts will not be easy due to Alcaraz's ability on both surfaces and his record against Sinner.
0 Comments