ATP report – The 10 matches of the year 2024: Alcaraz-Sinner, the Beijing jewel

Third round
Adrian Mannarino bat Ben Shelton 7-6, 1-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4

There was something for those who like clashes of styles, those who love long fights (almost 5 hours, all the same), who enjoy suspense and left-handers. Adrian Mannarino and Ben Shelton delighted in Melbourne in this round of 16 last January. A hell of a pyrotechnic show and, at the end, a notable victory for the French veteran, who then signed his third success in three sets in this first week of the Australian Open! The rest of his season will prove much more complicated, but this match undoubtedly remains.

Semi-final
Grigor Dimitrov bat Alexander Zverev 6-4, 6-7, 6-4

Let’s hope that Alexander Zverev will forgive us and, we promise, there is no stubbornness: but if the German has won a lot in 2024, it is for… three defeats that we will find him in this ranking. And again, we have not included his failure in the Roland-Garros final against Carlos Alcaraz, the most painful of all for him. But for a big match, it takes two and Zverev has often been there for that. Like in Miami against Grigor Dimitrov. The Bulgarian, already the winner of Carlos Alcaraz, lived in Florida not his best life but his best week of 2024. And this anthology reflex volley for the decisive break in the last set is a “must see”. To think that he had seven defeats against Zverev…

2nd round
Holger Rune bat Flavio Cobolli 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 3-6, 7-6

It takes everything to make a world and everything to build this type of ranking. Even a second round of Roland-Garros between Holger Rune and Flavio Cobolli. Rune’s season has been complicated, his growth crisis seems to be prolonged, but the Dane still has this instinct and this taste for fighting which, at times, gives his matches a rather tasty flavor. Trailing two sets to nothing, Cobolli came back and when he led 5-0 in the super tie-break, we thought he was on his way to making a hell of a comeback. But it was Rune who ended up with a 10-2 to escape. Maybe not the match of the season, but the thriller of the year, yes.

3e tour
Carlos Alcaraz beat Frances Tiafoe 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6, 6-2

The summer of all doubles for Carlos Alcaraz. An English double, retaining his title at Wimbledon. A double in the Channel, compiling Roland-Garros then London. But these two “back to back” almost evaporated in this third round against Frances Tiafoe on Center Court. The American had announced it, he felt capable of beating the Spaniard. He will not be right until the end but by leading two sets to one before only giving in to the tie-break in the fourth set, Tiafoe came close to the feat in this high-level match. But once in the fifth, Alcaraz becomes almost unplayable in Grand Slam…

Finale
Arthur Fils bat Alexander Zverev 6-3, 3-6, 7-6

If tennis is “boxing without blood”, if this sport gives its full measure when it transforms technical opposition and something more animal and visceral, this Hamburg final between Arthur Fils and Alexander Zverev arises there. Beyond the real quality of the match, it is the physical and even more psychological confrontation that will remain. With real tension between the two men in the final part. The young son grew up a lot this Sunday in July, winning the first important title of his career, especially on the land of the great Sascha, a Hamburger by birth. She had soul and a hell of a chest, this finale.

Finale
Jannik Sinner beat Daniil Medvedev 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3

To be honest, it is entirely possible to consider that the semi-final between Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev constituted the real summit of this Australian fortnight. But this final is undoubtedly one of the most important matches of the year, announcing the arrival at the top of Jannik Sinner and branding Medvedev.

Men’s tennis has changed in recent days in Melbourne, with the Italian’s two crucial victories against Djokovic (half) then Medvedev (final). Then you don’t win a major final every day by overcoming a handicap of two sets. Well, Medvedev managed to lose two in two years with such a scenario in Australia. After Nadal 2022, Sinner 2024. Mentally, but even more physically, the Transalpine was incredibly strong that day on the Rod Laver Arena.

Finale
Novak Djokovic beats Carlos Alcaraz 7-6, 7-6

The day Novak Djokovic definitively killed the “game”, destroying the last “yes but” on which his detractors or his “haters” could still rely. “Yes, but he didn’t win Olympic gold.” He lacked that, it’s true. Since August 4, 2024, nothing has failed him. If his year was complex, with physical problems and, sometimes, undoubtedly also some small motivational problems, this Olympic gold medal erases everything else. Rolled out three weeks earlier by Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final, the Serb this time released his best match of the year, at the best time. This Djoko remains an absolute reference. We haven’t seen him often in 2024, but just in time to settle, finally, on the roof of Olympus.

3e tour
Novak Djokovic beats Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 6-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0

You had to be solid on your feet to hold out until the end of this third round between Novak Djokovic and Lorenzo Musetti, completed at… three o’clock in the morning on the Philippe-Chatrier court. But the brave people who stayed didn’t have to regret it. 4h29 of a pretty colossal fight. All that was missing was a worthy outcome to give this match an even more impactful character. But Musetti stuck in the middle of the night and Djoko gave him a bagel to finish. But in this year which is quite poor in unforgettable Grand Slam matches, this one is clearly one of those that stands out from the rest.

Semi-final
Jannik Sinner beat Alexander Zverev 7-6, 5-7, 7-6

In the heart of summer, the Masters 1000 in Canada and Cincinnati almost went unnoticed after the brutal sequence of Roland-Garros / Wimbledon / Olympic Games and before the US Open. However, Ohio offered one of the highs of the season during this semi-final between Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev, who will finish the year in the first two places in the world rankings. A standoff as we like it, which would definitively remove the doubts surrounding the physique of the Italian, whose hip seemed to be creaking.

As is often the case, Zverev ended with regrets, from the first set losing 11-9 in the decisive game despite two set points. It was again in the tie-break that the German saw victory slip away in the last set, played without the slightest break point on either side. It was heavy, brutal and intense for three sets. “An extremely exciting match to play,” Sinner summed up. And to watch, too.

Finale
Carlos Alcaraz beat Jannik Sinner 6-7, 6-4, 7-6

So here it is THE match of the year 2024 in men’s tennis. As things are sometimes done well, it is a duel between the two players who dominated the season, notably sharing the four Grand Slam titles. As a bonus, it’s a final, even if it’s “only” an ATP 500. Beijing was therefore spoiled by drawing the jackpot. Superb tactical battle, Martian points, confirmation of a now well-established rivalry and an epic scenario, until this final tie-break.

Perhaps one of the most painful defeats of the year for Jannik Sinner, who has not experienced many. But he seemed to have the upper hand slightly in the last act and when we lead 3-0 in the decisive tie-break… If the Italian is the undisputed boss of the circuit, Alcaraz continues to look him in the face and even, to say everything, from a little higher. Behind his two victories at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon, it is the most delicious victory of the year for the Murcian. Looking forward to the next Sinner-Alcaraz.