The sublime wave of sinners in the changing power center of men's tennis | Tennis news

Mumbai: When Carlos Alcaraz won his second Grand Slam of 2024, he would have become the youngest to win majors on all three surfaces, at a faster pace than Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. When Jannik Sinner won his second Grand Slam of 2024, he had captured his first two majors in the same season, something even Djokovic, Nadal and Federer could not achieve.

PREMIUM

Defined by a collective stranglehold from the Big Three, the nerve center of men's tennis for much of the past few decades has finally been replaced by a newer, younger power center. And within it, a 23-year-old, soft-spoken Italian rules like few men ever have.

The Sinners ATP final win in Turin on Sunday was emblematic of the kind of season he has had. He defeated American Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 in a no-nonsense, utterly dominant performance in the final of the year-end tournament, where his opponents each made up the top 10 players, mind you, at times it felt like there was nothing. You can really do it, as Fritz put it. Sinner never dropped more than four games to a set in any of his five matches, nor did he lose a set (again, something even the Big Three can't boast in their record-breaking resumes).

This dreamy dominance goes back to the beginning of the season, or even the end of last year, when Sinner won a pair of ATP titles and led Italy's victory in the Davis Cup final. That was Sinner warming up as a newly introduced top five player. This is Sinner as world No. 1, after a season in which he won two Grand Slams and six ATP titles, while losing just six matches of the 75 he has played so far this year. None of those defeats came in straight sets, and in no tournament did he exit before reaching at least the quarterfinals.

All this while he endured nights of not sleeping well, as Sinner revealed after winning the ATP Finals. Sinners' sublime season was somewhat tarnished by a doping saga that engulfed him just before the start of the US Open and refused to go away. The Italian had tested positive in two separate doping tests in March, the results of which were only made public months later, as he continued to play on the tour. The decision to acquit him of wrongdoing has been challenged by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which is seeking a two-year ban. The case will continue until early next year, when the Court of Arbitration for Sport is expected to make a ruling.

The youngster continued to play throughout and largely win as if it was business as usual. But it wasn't. “I've been left thinking about where we went wrong and what we could have done better,” Sinner said on Sunday about the doping saga in which he ultimately fired two members of his team. I had days where I didn't feel great.

Only one opponent managed to beat him multiple times this season. He just happens to be the other cog in this narrative spinning wheel of men's tennis. Alcaraz and Sinner could not be more contrasting as personalities and tennis players. One is fire, the other ice. One is flashy and funky, the other sturdy and sublime. One is an all-court artist, the other an all-season force.

Their rivalry will define men's tennis for the next decade, but so far the 21-year-old Spaniard has had the upper hand. Alcaraz have defeated Sinner in all three of their 2024 meetings, including in a high-stakes ATP Beijing final and a high-stakes French Open semi-final. Alcaraz went on to win in Paris and then in London at Wimbledon, where he split the Slams with Sinner.

Each player would account for a season of two Slams and as many ATP titles, but with Sinner setting the benchmark this year, Alcaraz may feel he could go one step further (he also dropped to third in the world , for the record). Especially in the second half of the season when he tends to lose steam when competing on faster and indoor hard courts. However, you can be sure that the rivalry between the sports will only increase.

Speaking of rivalries, there was another one involving Sinner that pretty much went one way. Djokovic could not beat his younger opponent in their two official meetings this year (three including the Saudi exhibition). Djokovic was unable to win a single title on the tour this year. The very first Olympic gold in Paris was indeed exceptional and emotional for the Serbian 24-time Slam champion. But the 37-year-old standard-bearer of the Big Three is feeling the winds of change and would like to reverse them again next season.

But for now, Sinner's sublime sail and Alcaraz's sensational spark are generating quite a bit of excitement.