The ATP Finals takes place in Turin between November 10-17, live on Sky Sports Tennis, as this year's top eight men's players in the world face off; Watch ATP and WTA action on Sky Sports Tennis and Sky Sports+ which is integrated into Sky TV, NOW and app
Wednesday 6 November 2024 12:55, UK
We look at the season so far for the top eight ATP players this year ahead of the climax to the season arriving in November in the shape of the ATP Finals in Turin, live on Sky Sports Tennis.
Between November 10 and 17, the top eight men's players in the world will face off in Turin, looking to end their seasons on a high.
Italy's Jannik Sinner, Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, Germany's Alexander Zverev, Russian Daniil Medvedev, the USA's Taylor Fritz, Norway's Casper Ruud, Australia's Alex de Minaur and Russia's Andrey Rublev have qualified, with defending champion Novak Djokovic unable to compete due to injury.
We take a look at each of their seasons so far...
Sinner has enjoyed a hugely successful year, claiming two of the four Grand Slam titles on offer while adding three ATP 1000 titles to his career resume too.
The 23-year-old began the year in ideal fashion, winning his first ever Grand Slam title in January at the Australian Open, beating Medvedev in a five-set epic from two sets behind.
Sinner suffered Grand Slam disappointment in losing at the French Open semi-finals to Alcaraz, and then the Wimbledon quarter-finals to Medvedev, but rounded things off on a high by claiming his first US Open title, beating home favourite Taylor Fritz in the final.
Having previously won one ATP 1000 title, Sinner claimed a trio of trophies in 2024, clinching Miami Open, Cincinnati Open and Shanghai Masters final victories over Grigor Dimitrov, Frances Tiafoe and Djokovic respectively.
He also made three further ATP 500 finals, winning the Rotterdam Open vs Alex de Minaur and Halle Open vs Hubert Hurkacz, but losing the China Open to Alcaraz. Sinner also became the inaugural Six Kings Slam Champion this year, beating Alcaraz in the final.
Sinner made the final of the 2023 ATP Finals, but suffered defeat to Djokovic.
The one cloud which has hung over Sinner this year has been the fact it was revealed he escaped a suspension after failing two drug tests in March, with his physiotherapist found to be the source of accidental contamination. WADA has since launched an appeal against the decision to clear Sinner.
At just 21 years old, Alcaraz continues to marvel after another year of quality and entertainment.
Like Sinner, the Spaniard clinched two of the four Grand Slams on offer in 2024, winning his first French Open title by beating Zverev in a five-setter, and then his second successive Wimbledon by dispatching Djokovic in straight sets.
Alcaraz won the fifth ATP 1000 title of his career this year by defending his Indian Wells triumph with a final victory over Medvedev, and clinched a further ATP 500 title at the China Open, defeating Sinner in the final.
Elsewhere, he lost his maiden Australian Open quarter-final to Zverev and suffered a shock US Open second-round loss to Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp.
Alcaraz also suffered a surprising Olympic Games final loss to Djokovic in Paris, mere weeks after his dominant Wimbledon success vs the same player.
Zverev made just the second Grand Slam final of his career this year (after 2020 US Open defeat), losing to Alcaraz at Roland Garros.
The 27-year-old also sealed the sixth ATP 1000 title of his career, beating Chile's Nicolas Jarry in the final of the Italian Open, for his second ever Rome success.
Elsewhere, Zverev lost in the Australian Open semi-finals vs Medvedev from a position of two sets up, at the Wimbledon fourth round and in the US Open quarters to Fritz.
He missed out on a further bit of silverware at ATP 500 level, losing the Hamburg Open final vs Frenchman Arthur Fils.
Medvedev has undergone a year in which he undoubtedly proved he is one of the strongest men's players in the world at present, but failed to win any silverware.
The 28-year-old made his third Australian Open final in the last four years, but again suffered defeat. And this one was perhaps his most painful, having stormed to a two-set lead vs Sinner but then lost out in five - Medvedev was two sets ahead in the 2022 final vs Rafael Nadal too, but was facing a Sinner in January who had never won a Grand Slam.
He was in the mix at two further Grand Slams too, losing in the Wimbledon semi-finals to inspired eventual champion Alcaraz, and in the US Open quarters to another eventual champion in Sinner.
Medvedev also suffered a disappointing fourth-round French Open exit this year (to De Minaur), and lost in the final at Indian Wells to Alcaraz.
A two-time finalist at ATP Finals previously, Medvedev beat Dominic Thiem to lift the trophy in 2020 and lost to Zverev in 2021.
Big-serving American Fritz broke new personal ground this year by making his maiden Grand Slam final, on home soil no less at the US Open in New York, suffering defeat to Sinner.
The 27-year-old also made the Australian Open quarters for the first time, losing to Djokovic, and made it to the Wimbledon quarters for just the second time, losing in five sets to Italian Lorenzo Musetti.
The best Fritz did at ATP 1000 level this season were two semi-finals at the Madrid Open and Shanghai Masters, losing to Andrey Rublev and Djokovic respectively.
Fritz did lift silverware this year, as he secured an ATP 250 title by winning the Eastbourne International.
Norway's Ruud reached the French Open semi-finals this year, losing to Zverev despite being a set ahead, but the 25-year-old failed to put a deep run together in any of the remaining three Grand Slams.
Ruud was knocked out at the Australian Open third round, Wimbledon second round and US Open fourth round, but he did make five further ATP finals in 2024.
At ATP 1000 level, Ruud made the Monte-Carlo Masters final but lost to Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas. Elsewhere, Ruud won the ATP 500 Barcelona Open vs Tsitsipas and ATP 250 Geneva Open vs Tomas Machac, but lost the ATP 500 Mexico Open vs De Minaur and ATP 250 Los Cabos Open vs Jordan Thompson.
He also suffered a quarter-final defeat at the Paris Olympic Games, going down to Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Ruud finished as an ATP Finals runner-up in 2022, losing to Djokovic in the final.
Rublev sealed a fifth straight Turin ATP Finals berth, and equalled his career-best Grand Slam finish this year by making the Australian Open quarter-finals.
The 27-year-old was knocked out by eventual champion Sinner in Melbourne, and elsewhere was knocked out of the French Open third round, Wimbledon first round and US Open fourth round.
He did secure his second-ever ATP 1000 title, though, clinching the Madrid Open after a comeback win vs Auger-Aliassime. Rublev also made the Canadian Open final but lost to Popyrin.
The Russian added a piece of ATP 250 silverware this year too, winning the Hong Kong Open vs Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori.
Australian De Minaur has brought his game on hugely over the past 12 months, making the quarter-finals of three of the four Grand Slam events.
The 25-year-old made the French Open and Wimbledon quarters for the first time in his career - losing to Zverev in the former and unfortunately pulling out injured in the latter - before making his second-ever US Open quarter, suffering defeat to Britain's Jack Draper.
Before that, he'd suffered a fourth-round Australian Open loss, but he did make a further three ATP finals in 2024.
Indeed, De Minaur picked up an ATP 500 Mexico Open title win vs Ruud and ATP 250 Rosmalen Grass Court Championships title vs American Sebastian Korda. He also lost the final of the ATP 500 Rotterdam Open to Sinner.
For the first time in his career, Bulgarian Dimitrov made two Grand Slam quarter-finals in the same calendar year this season, but injuries wrecked much of his momentum.
The 33-year-old booked passage through to the Roland Garros last eight for the very first time, losing to Sinner, but then had to withdraw from a Wimbledon fourth-round clash vs Medvedev due to a leg injury, with another leg complaint forcing his withdrawal during a US Open quarter-final clash vs Tiafoe.
Elsewhere, Dimitrov made four ATP finals in 2024 - one at ATP 1000 level, and three at ATP 250 level.
He made the ATP 1000 Miami Open final but lost to Sinner, though he did clinch the Brisbane International trophy with a final victory over Denmark's Holger Rune.
Dimitrov also made the Stockholm Open and Open 13 finals, losing to American Tommy Paul and Frenchman Ugo Humbert respectively.
Dimitrov is a former ATP Finals champion, clinching the title in 2017, but he has not been at the event since.
From 2021-2025, the ATP Finals will be held at Turin's Inalpi Arena - Italy's largest indoor sporting arena.
The tournament has been contested in major cities around the world, with a rich history dating back to the birth of The Masters in Tokyo (1970).
Between 2009 and 2020, the event was held in London at the O2 Arena.
Previous to that, it was hosted in Shanghai (2005-2008, 2002), Houston (2003-2004, 1976), Sydney (2001), Lisbon (2000), Hanover (1996-1999), Frankfurt (1990-1995), New York (1977-1989), Stockholm (1975), Melbourne (1974), Boston (1973), Barcelona (1972), Paris (1971), Tokyo (1970).
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