Today the last Masters 1000 of the season starts in Paris-Bercy. The top favorite for the win is the current world number 1 Jannik Sinner, although the Italian ace has never particularly shone in this tournament. The 23-year-old from Sesto Pusteria reached the round of 16 as the best result and admitted that he never had a great feeling on these courts.
Sinner is already certain to finish the year at the top of the ATP ranking, while Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev are fighting for second place. After winning the ATP 500 in Beijing and reaching the quarterfinals in Shanghai, the Spanish champion decided not to play in Basel last week to practice at best for the last three events of 2024.
Jannik Sinner & Carlos Alcaraz, Six Kings Slam 2024© Stream screenshot
Sascha – on the other hand – is not in top form because of a pneumonia that hit him after the Laver Cup. The German ace was forced to skip the ATP 500 in Beijing, while in Shanghai he suffered a very unexpected defeat against David Goffin. Zverev didn’t express his best tennis even in Vienna last week, losing to Lorenzo Musetti in the quarterfinals despite having won the first set very easily. The champion of the Masters 1000 in Rome will need to raise his level to get far to Bercy.
Carlitos has a 395 points lead
The Paris-Bercy Masters 1000 is very important for Carlitos and Sascha not only because of the prestige of the tournament, but also because of the challenges ahead of the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. The second position in the ATP ranking allows you to avoid facing Sinner in the group stage in Turin.
At the moment, the 21-year-old from Murcia has a 395 points lead over the German ace in the ATP Race and is master of his own destiny. In a nutshell, Zverev needs to reach the final or win the tournament in Bercy if Alcaraz wins any match. If the Spaniard loses in the second round, Sascha could overtake him simply by reaching the semifinals.
Carlos Alcaraz, Six Kings Slam 2024© Stream screenshot
There is no doubt that Sinner and Alcaraz are destined to dominate the men’s tour in the next 10 or 15 years. The Italian ace and the Spanish champion each won two Majors in 2024 and both have a lot of room for improvement. Jannik is trying to add variations to his game, while Carlitos is working on his mental strength and ability to be consistent throughout the season.
The rise of these two young champions has hurt especially Daniil Medvedev, who suffered numerous defeats against them in the last year. In the latest edition of the ‘Tennis Channel Inside-In’ podcast, Gilles Cervara – Medvedev’s coach – reflected on facing Sinner and Alcaraz: “That’s true but Jannik and Carlos make the challenge very hard now. Right now, one of the biggest challenges is to find solutions to be able to beat Sinner and Alcaraz. Right now between matches, between tournaments, I try to do a lot of work watching videos of Sinner, Alcaraz, Daniil’s match also of course, Daniil’s matches in the past. I try to have the most information I can have and to build the plan, to think about the different things we can improve in every part of his game – tennis, physical, mental, qualitative, so many things.”
Two players leading the way
Next year will be decisive to see if any other players can join the fight between these two players. None – at least for the moment – seems to have enough consistency to be able to undermine two champions who are destined to make history of this sport. Djokovic’s age-related decline should help them further in 2025, unless some young talent makes the leap.
Carlos Alcaraz, Beijing Open 2024© X – Beijing Open
In a long interview with ‘L’Equipe’, former ATP star Marc Rosset has been very ferociously criticising some members of the current Top 10: “Back when Roger Federer dominated the ranking, the top 10 rarely moved. Guys like Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, Cilic or Stan Wawrinka were well established. These guys performed regularly in the Grand Slams. A guy in eighth place, if he fulfilled his contract by reaching the quarters, would stay in the top 10.
When I look at the current rankings, beyond the top five, they’re not consistent enough in Grand Slams to make a lasting impression. Taylor Fritz is there for his US Open final. Andrey Rublev plays a lot, but struggles in the Grand Slam tournaments. Casper Ruud is having an average season. And behind him, Tsitsipas, he shines somewhere and gets a second round at Wimbledon, then makes the final elsewhere. It’s too disjointed.
Shelton is up and down all season. Tiafoe is the same. Musetti can win a tournament but miss out so often. Auger-Aliassime, we’re not even talking about him, I wonder how he’s still here. These guys can perform, but also lose to second-tier players – you don’t understand why.”