Jannik Sinner will make his debut today in the ‘Six Kings Slam’ against Russian Daniil Medvedev, a defeated opponent in seven of the last eight matches played on the professional tour. The two champions faced each other very recently, in the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 in Shanghai, where the Italian ace prevailed in two fairly sharp sets.
Jannik Sinner, Shanghai Masters 2024© Stream screenshot
The winner of this match will face 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. Although it is only an exhibition, the prize money is really high (6 million for the champion of the event) and players will give their best to lift the trophy. Jannik is the top favorite in Saudi Arabia, too, considering the incredible level he has maintained throughout this season. The world’s number 1 has been almost unstoppable on hard courts and has suffered only six defeats throughout 2024, collecting two Grand Slam titles and three Masters 1000 titles from January to date.
The 23-year-old from Sesto Pusteria has a really impressive lead over all the pursuers in the ATP ranking and wants to take away further satisfactions before the end of the season. Sinner will play three more official events in 2024: the Masters 1000 in Paris-Bercy, the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin and the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga.
New records
Jannik’s 2024 can already be counted among the best seasons of the modern era, testifying to the immense value of a player who made a giant leap in the last year. Sinner pursues records after records and every victory he has, places him in the temple of tennis history. In the Italian one there is already a long time, but Sinner continues to make great results. The last one came a few days ago with the victory of the Masters 1000 in Shanghai with the Italian ace who beat in two sets in the final Nole Djokovic.
Jannik Sinner, Shanghai Masters 2024© Stream screenshot
The Italian ace seems not affected by the Clostebol case with a lot of polemics and goes on its way. His average loss this season is impressive and Jannik has already won two Grand Slam titles and three Masters 1000, entering the list of 10 players who have managed to do this in a year: besides Sinner there are Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, and then there are also Edberg, Sampras, Agassi, Muster, Rios and Murray. An incredible series of number one and players who have written incredible pages in the history of this sport.
But it’s not over yet and Sinner can do even better. Rea will play the Masters 1000 in Paris-Bercy for a few weeks and the number one in the world can increase his record: Only Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic managed to win two Slam and 4 Masters 1000 in the same season and winning Bercy also Sinner could be part of this restricted club. For another record of a 2024 that is becoming historic and that Jannik does not want to stop.
The beginning of a new era
After the victory against Djokovic, Sinner made some interesting statements: “This year has been very, very difficult for me due to other circumstances and at times I lost a little smile because I had some problems off the field, which sometimes come back to me. But I tried to have the best possible fun on the court. And, of course, success is something great. So, I just try to stay very calm and not to worry if I miss a few shots or if sometimes I’m unlucky, I just try to keep pushing with the best energy possible. I try to control what I can control, and that is definitely the mind, and also the physical aspect that you can control”.
The Italian ace has won two Major titles this year, just like Carlitos Alcaraz (who became the youngest player ever to win the French Open and Wimbledon Championships in the same year). In a recent interview with ‘La Gazzetta dello Sport’, ATP legend Boris Becker opened up on the new ATP tour’s hierarchies: “Now on the tour, we have another dilemma… we need a Rafa Nadal to complete the new Big Three. And another player to follow the Fab Four.
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz© @TheTennisLetter X account
The one closest to reaching the top for me is Ben Shelton. The most ready, at first, seemed to be Holger Rune, but this year he hasn’t made much progress. Who can say if one day Sinner will be as dominant as ‘Nole’? But we shouldn’t put too much pressure on these players’ shoulders: winning 24 Slam titles is something superhuman, as are 428 weeks as world No 1. There is only one ‘Nole’, one Roger Federer and one Nadal. But I think that with these guys, tennis is really in good hands.”
