“The gulf between Sinner and everyone else in this tournament is a pretty big body of water.” — Jim Courier, former world No. 1.
With the preternatural calmness of Björn Borg, the technical perfection of Novak Djokovic, and the endearing humility of Rafael Nadal, an Italian sensation with a surname that’s a misnomer has taken over men’s tennis. He has also become wildly popular, particularly in football-mad Italy.
Jannik Sinner had already clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking a month before the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. He underscored his near-total hard-court domination this season by thrashing every opponent without dropping a set — a feat last achieved in 1986 by Ivan Lendl.
Even more impressively, Sinner became only the third player, besides superstars Djokovic and Roger Federer, to win the three biggest hard-court events — the Australian and US Opens and this tournament — in the same year.
In contrast to Carlos Alcaraz’s panache — bright sleeveless shirts, flashy shots, and broad smiles — Sinner seems almost colourless in his Nike attire: grey shorts, a navy-blue shirt, and a white baseball cap. As he strolls onto the court before matches, he appears expressionless. No headphones with music, like Frances Tiafoe. During the coin toss, no kangaroo jumps followed by serpentine sprints, like Nadal.
Understated in personality, Sinner is overwhelming in power. During his decisive 6-4, 6-4 victory over No. 5 Taylor Fritz in the final, Tennis Channel analyst Jim Courier remarked, “Fritz does nothing better than Sinner. I would have said, arguably, maybe his first serve is better — but not today.”
Young guns: Sinner, lanky and wiry-strong at slightly over 6’3”, surpassed Fritz with an overall service rating of 323 to 288. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
Sinner, lanky and wiry-strong at slightly over 6’3”, surpassed Fritz with an overall service rating of 323 to 288. He whacked more aces, 14 to 8, with no double faults; won 83 per cent of his first-serve points compared to 70 per cent for Fritz; and faced only one break point, which he saved with a wickedly wide serve in the last game of the opening set.
Imagine averaging 123 mph with 50 per cent of his first serves landing within a mere foot of the centre line or sideline. That astounding precision comes from countless practice hours and his penchant for perfectionism. His choice of the Head Graphene Touch Speed racket followed a series of blind tests at the Monte Carlo Open in April, using several Head frames painted identically. “That’s the mark of a hungry player, always looking for the [extra] edges,” said Courier.
A technique change also paid off handsomely. “Sinner’s serve is so much better since he switched [from a platform stance] to a step-up serve,” Tennis Channel analyst Andy Roddick pointed out. A rocket server himself, Roddick was the last American man to win a Grand Slam singles title, 21 years ago at the US Open.
Sinner’s superiority over Fritz was even more pronounced in the return stats, with a rating of 124 compared to just 55 for the American. Overall, Sinner finished with 28 winners and only nine unforced errors, compared to Fritz’s 20 and 15 respectively.
Besides becoming the first Italian to capture this prestigious title, Sinner earned the biggest prize money for champions in the history of the Tour — $4,881,500.
Sinner had already defeated Fritz by an identical 6-4, 6-4 score in the round-robin stage, where he also stopped a much-improved Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-4, and Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-4. That was Sinner’s third straight win over the declining, 28-year-old Russian and eighth in their last nine meetings. Medvedev, who has lost four straight matches against Alcaraz, admitted that losing regularly to the new Big Two has sapped his motivation for the sport.
Other players Medvedev once dominated are also figuring out how to outsmart and overpower ‘The Octopus’. During his 6-4, 6-3 loss to Fritz, the once-lovable Russian villain — remember his irritating, and later amusing, antics when winning the 2021 US Open — became downright unlovable.
Daniil Medvedev admitted that losing regularly to the new Big Two has sapped his motivation. | Photo Credit: REUTERS
Smashing his racket and a courtside microphone earned him two separate code of conduct violations, a point penalty, and jeers from the 13,000 spectators. “I get angry and frustrated,” Medvedev said. “This time it was completely with myself — not with anyone else. Just with myself.”
Andrey Rublev, another volatile top-10 Russian, is notorious for his combustible temper and occasional masochism on the ATP Tour. A year ago, he bloodied his knee with a vicious racket swing in frustration against Alcaraz. During Rublev’s 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 round-robin loss to the mild-mannered Casper Ruud, the Russian’s demons returned, and he smashed his racket on the court after losing serve to go down 2-1 in the deciding set.
Ruud, coached by his father Christian, a former top-40 player, takes a philosophical approach to the vicissitudes of the Tour. Reflecting on his third straight ATP Finals semifinal, Ruud remarked, “Tennis is interesting sometimes. I don’t know what I’m doing better this week than in the last weeks”— where he lost his opening match in six of his last seven tournaments. “The only thing I can really feel is serving; I’m serving really good, so hopefully I can keep it going tomorrow — I’m going to need it.”
Alas, not even exceptional serving or the Norwegian’s superb topspin forehand could stop the irresistible force that Sinner has become. Nor could the advice of Tennis Channel analyst Prakash Amritraj, the genial son of Indian tennis icon Vijay Amritraj: “You need delusional confidence to beat the top guy.”
Ruud had won 11 of his 12 titles on clay, but on fast indoor hard courts, he became cannon fodder. As expected, Sinner pummelled the world No. 6 Ruud in a 6-1, 6-2 masterclass, highlighted by 23 winners against only nine unforced errors.
The near-flawless Italian seized 12 of the first 15 points, saved the only two break points he faced in the fifth game, and reeled off 12 of the last 15 points, finishing the rout with two forehand winners and a service ace.
The other semifinal was both predictably close and unpredictable. Alexander Zverev had risen to a career-high No. 2 after reaching the French Open final and claiming Masters 1000 titles in Rome on clay and Paris indoors just two weeks before Riyadh. Besides momentum, the 6’6” German carried confidence from winning the ATP Finals in 2018 by defeating Federer (semis) and Djokovic (final), and again in 2021, overcoming Djokovic (semis) and Medvedev (final).
Fritz’s advantage was more personal and recent. The 27-year-old American had beaten Zverev in their last three encounters, all in 2024, with the most significant victories coming in a tough five-setter at Wimbledon and a four-setter at the US Open. Additionally, in a breakthrough year, Fritz reached his first Major final at Flushing Meadows and ascended to a career-high ranking of No. 5.
In the semifinal between Zverev (above) and Fritz, both players displayed powerful groundstrokes, excellent mobility, and grit. | Photo Credit: AFP
This semifinal featured two heavyweight servers but average returners. Zverev ranked No. 1 among ATP Serve Leaders, with Fritz at No. 7. But neither ranked among the top 25 Return Leaders. This crucial ‘under pressure’ rating placed Fritz at No. 17 and Zverev at No. 23.
Though not a vast difference, Fritz held a significant lead in tiebreaks won, 65.6 per cent compared to 60 per cent. In their head-to-head encounters, Fritz had won six of eight tiebreaks.
These stats proved relevant in Fritz’s razor-thin 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (3) victory. In fairness, it was more than just a serving contest, despite each player managing only one service break. Both displayed powerful groundstrokes, excellent mobility, and grit.
In the deciding set, Zverev saved three break points in the eighth game and pounded his trademark backhand down the line to hold for 4-all. Fritz staved off three break points of his own in the fifth game and another in the 11th. “Is there a better pure competitor in tennis than Taylor Fritz?” asked Courier, himself a terrific competitor in the 1990s.
A tiebreaker concluded one of the best matches of the year. It ended with a bang for the bolder Fritz, who walloped two forehand winners and a swinging backhand winner, and with a whimper for the passive Zverev, who committed three unforced forehand errors.
“Zverev doesn’t have trust in his A-game the way Fritz does,” observed Courier. “Sascha is trying to trust it and make his forehand a weapon [like Fritz’s]. Just settling into backhand [crosscourt] rallies works against most players, but not the top players.”
Now Fritz is firmly established as a top player, at least in his own mind. “I have a lot of belief in myself. Love-40 [holds] is not as much out of reach [anymore],” he said after notching his 10th top-10 win of the year — the most by an American man since 1999, when Agassi had 12 and Sampras 10.
“I trust my game and my level, and I don’t feel nearly as uncomfortable in these situations anymore because I’ve been playing the top guys at big events a lot lately. I’m getting more comfortable in the moment. I’m really, really confident in my game.”
Although Fritz has climbed to a career-best No. 4, he will need to improve his volleys and athleticism to upend Sinner and Alcaraz in best-of-five-set encounters at the Majors | Photo Credit: REUTERS
Although Fritz has climbed to a career-best No. 4, he will need to improve his volleys and athleticism to upend Sinner and Alcaraz in best-of-five-set encounters at the Majors. “I did surprise myself with the results here,” Sinner told Amritraj. “But I know how much I practise and dedicate myself to the sport. It’s been an amazing year.”
Indeed, it was for the carrot-loving Italian, whose penchant for the orange vegetable and curly, reddish-orange hair has inspired fans to don all kinds of orange costumes in his honour. Sinner started the year with a 22-27 career record against top-10 opponents but finished the season with a 17-5 record, winning 10 of his last 11 matches against them. With a terrific 70-6 match record, he has won eight tournaments — more than the number of matches he lost — a rare feat.
“I have no question Sinner will be a force next year,” said Courier. “But will he play? WADA may suspend him for a year or two.”
Sinner maintains he has “a clear conscience” regarding the two positive drug tests from last March. The World Anti-Doping Agency has appealed an innocent verdict delivered in September, and the Court of Arbitration for Sport will issue its final ruling early next year.
The other question involves Djokovic. The GOAT decided not to defend his ATP Finals title. If you’re wondering what the ever-intriguing Serb has been up to — or on — check out the incredible photo of Djokovic showcasing his incomparable balance and flexibility while doing splits on a tennis net.
“This is an absolute fake photo, and I love it,” said an amused Courier. “[But] if this is real, he’s up there with [high-wire daredevils] The Flying Wallendas.”
Five Takeaways from the WTA Finals
A new Big Four in women’s tennis
A new Big Four has emerged in women’s tennis, led by the clear No. 1, Aryna Sabalenka. Sabalenka — the champion at the Australian Open, US Open, Cincinnati, and Wuhan and semifinalist in the WTA Finals, where she lost to Coco Gauff. The Belarusian Basher dethroned Iga Swiatek, who still managed an impressive season, capturing her fourth French Open title, along with victories in Rome, Madrid, Indian Wells and Qatar.
Coco Gauff became the first American to claim the prestigious season-ending WTA Finals crown since Serena Williams in 2014. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
Despite not winning a Major this year, rising stars Gauff and Zheng Qinwen secured their place in the Big Four during the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Gauff became the first American to claim the prestigious season-ending crown since Serena Williams in 2014 and the only player to defeat both Sabalenka and Świątek in the same tournament this year. Zheng had a breakthrough campaign, reaching the Australian Open final, winning China’s (and Asia’s) first singles gold medal at the Paris Olympics, and narrowly losing to Gauff in the Riyadh final.
Gauff and Zheng shine in the final
The intriguing final in Riyadh showcased a thrilling battle between ‘The Great American Hope’ and ‘The Great Chinese Hope’. The player who idolised Serena versus the player who said she strives to play like Serena. “The best competitor on the women’s tour,” according to esteemed coach and Tennis Channel analyst Paul Annacone against a “cut-throat” rival, according to No. 8 Emma Navarro.
Gauff’s 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) over Zheng at Riyadh was the youngest final with a combined age of 42 years and 271 days since Maria Sharapova upset Serena in 2004. Gauff also became only the fourth American to win this title before the age of 21, joining teenage champions Serena, Chris Evert, and Tracy Austin.
How Gauff prevailed
The match was filled with twists and turns, but the more consistent player — especially in critical games — eventually emerged victorious. Zheng, who had been in red-hot form with a 31-5 record since Wimbledon, raced to a 6-3, 2-0 lead. Behind 2-3, the younger but more experienced American broke Zheng’s potent serve three consecutive times to seize the second set, 6-4.
The Chinese, who led the Riyadh field with 35 aces and 54 per cent of her first serves unreturned before entering the final, won just three service points during the turnabout. Another key: Gauff improved her court position in rallies from six to 20 per cent inside the baseline and from 55 to 33 per cent in exchanges more than six feet behind the baseline. The momentum reversals continued in the deciding set with each player breaking twice to force a tiebreak. Gauff belted a forehand winner on the first point to set the tone for the lopsided 7-2 breaker and finished off Zheng with a slice forehand approach winner.
Gauff and Zheng will need to master different surfaces in order to pose a threat to Sabalenka and Świątek. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
No margin for errors
“The match today, it’s just a couple of important points,” rightly noted Zheng. “Nothing more to say. The match was very close, and then, you know, at the end, when you play this type of match, it’s not about tennis, it’s just about the choices on court.” Zheng’s poor shot selection, particularly reckless and wild errors, ultimately cost her the match.
“I was just telling myself — another point, another chance. I’ve been in situations like this in the past where I’ve been able to turn it around, and I was just hoping I could do it again today,” said Gauff, who came back from two service breaks in the deciding set and hung tough to break back when Zheng served for the title at 5-4.
How Gauff and Zheng can challenge the Big Two
Sabalenka has earned the unofficial title of ‘Queen of Hard Courts’ by winning the last three Majors on that surface, while Świątek, the undisputed ‘Queen of Clay’, already boasts four French Open titles at just 23. However, neither has won Wimbledon nor even reached its final. Sabalenka has reached the semifinals twice, while Świątek’s best result is a single quarterfinal appearance.
Gauff and Zheng will need to master different surfaces as well as their rivals. Both possess the athleticism, power, versatility, and competitiveness to win on any surface. However, in head-to-head records Świątek leads Gauff 11-2 (including 5-0 on clay), while Sabalenka holds a 5-0 advantage over Zheng, with four of those wins coming on hard courts this season.
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