Jannik Sinner has experienced the best season of his entire career. The world No. 1 has proven to everyone that he is the strongest right now, having won eight titles in 2024 and having suffered only six defeats since January.
Jannik’s win rate this year exceeds 90% and no opponent has been able to keep up with his pace, not even a great champion like Carlos Alcaraz. The Spanish player became the youngest ever to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season, but he also had several ups and downs that took him away from the top of the ATP ranking.
Jannik Sinner, ATP Finals 2024© Stream screenshot
It is no coincidence that Carlitos is currently number 3 in the world and is almost 5000 points away from the Italian in the ATP ranking. The 23-year-old from Sesto Pusteria is sure to remain number 1 even after the Australian Open, where he will have to defend the title won earlier this year.
New clues
Despite the doping case that has hit him in recent months, the 2-time Grand Slam champion seems to have found happiness even off the court thanks to the love-story with his colleague Anna Kalinskaya. The Russian player has been present several times in the stands in recent months to watch Sinner’s matches and all the photographers immortalized their kiss after the US Open final.
Anna Kalinskaya and Jannik Sinner© Screenshot
However – in recent weeks – the situation seems to have radically changed. Anna was not present in Turin for the Nitto ATP Finals and Jannik did not mention her in his speech after lifting the trophy.
Through her Instagram profile, Kalinskaya showed her followers that she was on vacation in Miami with some friends. Anna is now back in Moscow, while Sinner is playing the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga. According to reports from the Russian site ‘Championnat’, the love-story between the two players may have come to an end.
The Russian tennis player no longer follows Jannik on Instagram and liked a fan’s post saying that the world number 1 did not take enough care of his girlfriend. The Italian champion did not want to comment on this speculation, preferring to focus only on tennis, since his season is not over yet.
The 23-year-old from Sesto Pusteria was fundamental to Italy’s victory against Argentina yesterday. After Lorenzo Musetti’s defeat to Francisco Cerundolo, Sinner defeated Baez and won the decisive doubles together with his compatriot Matteo Berrettini. Italy is the top favorite to win the Davis Cup Finals for the second year in a row, especially after the premature eliminations of Spain and the United States.
“The court is very fast and tough to play,” said Sinner after the first tie. “I haven’t had so much time to adapt to these conditions, but the most important thing was to keep Italy alive.”
He also praised Berrettini: “He played unbelievable today. You know he carried me today, so I am very happy about his performance.
I think we have some very good choices to put on the court. Today was this choice because I played the first match, and it was not that long, so I felt physically ready. He played unbelievable, Matteo. He carried me. This means so much to us and I’m happy to play doubles with him.”
Italy will face Australia
Italy will face Australia in tomorrow’s semi-final, in what will be the rematch of last year’s final. Australia’s goal is to take the tie to the decisive doubles, knowing that it will be very difficult to take the point away from Sinner. Captain Lleyton Hewitt is expected to field Kokkinakis and de Minaur in the two singles, while the decisive doubles would be played by Thompson and Ebden.
“We’ve got a b****y rich history in this competition over a number of years, well over 100 years, so these boys know it’s a great honour every time you get the chance to wear the green and gold out here” – Hewitt said after Australia’s win over the United States.
“We’ve had a group of six guys that have really put their hands up the last three or four years now. They’ve gelled together well and I’m just super proud of the whole team as a collective” – he added.
Italy could make a different choice than the first tie against Argentina. Berrettini should replace Musetti in the first singles, having skills that are better suited to this very fast surface. Musetti seemed to be in difficulty against Cerundolo from a technical and mental point of view. The second singles match will be played by Jannik, who still looks very fresh despite the long season.