Keystone
The era after Federer, Nadal and Djokovic also begins at the ATP Finals. For the first time in 23 years, the season finale will take place without one of the Big 3. The focus in Turin is on Jannik Sinner.
THE GREAT ABSENTEE. Last year, Novak Djokovic won his seventh title at the ATP Finals, making him the sole record winner ahead of Roger Federer. This time, the 37-year-old Serb, although qualified, will be absent due to an unspecified injury. This is the first time since 2001 – when the champion was Lleyton Hewitt in Sydney – that a Masters has taken place without a player from the Federer/Djokovic/Rafael Nadal trio. Djokovic did not win a title on the ATP Tour this year for the first time since his first tournament victory in 2006, but fulfilled his big dream by winning Olympic gold in Paris.
LOCAL HERO AND HIGH-FLYER. Djokovic beat Jannik Sinner in last year’s final. This was followed by the changing of the guard in this respect too. Since then, the 23-year-old Italian has won all four duels with Djokovic, including the Davis Cup final, the semi-final of the Australian Open and most recently the final of the Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai. Although Sinner was absent from Paris-Bercy last week due to a viral infection, the two-time Grand Slam champion has been the outstanding player on hard courts this year and is therefore the top favorite with the home advantage behind him. He is sure to be number 1 at the end of the year. This is all the more astonishing as the upcoming hearing before the CAS regarding a possible multi-year doping ban is a real sword of Damocles hanging over the South Tyrolean.
THE FINALS SPECIALIST. Alexander Zverev underlined his brilliant form with his victory in Paris-Bercy, is now ranked No. 2 in the world rankings and will not meet Sinner in the group matches. The 27-year-old from Hamburg is a real specialist for the ATP Finals. While he is still chasing his first Grand Slam title, he has already won the former Masters twice, in London in 2018 and two years ago at the premiere in Turin. In his preliminary round group is Carlos Alcaraz, who has won the other two Grand Slam tournaments alongside Sinner. However, as has usually been the case in recent years, the Spaniard is weakening at the end of an exhausting season.
ROOKIE AND OLDIE. The only rookie is Alex de Minaur, the first Australian at the ATP Finals since Hewitt 20 years ago. The oldest is 28-year-old Daniil Medvedev, who is the only other player besides Zverev to have won the tournament (2020). The field is completed by the American Taylor Fritz, the Norwegian Casper Ruud and the Russian Andrei Rublev, who slipped in thanks to Djokovic’s withdrawal.
MONEY WINNING. As usual, the ATP’s showpiece tournament is lavishly endowed. An undefeated winner pockets a good 4.88 million dollars, the entry fee is 331,000 dollars, with an additional 396,500 dollars for each victory in the preliminary round. Even the two substitutes Grigor Dimitrov and Stefanos Tsitsipas will be compensated with 155,000 dollars for watching and standing by.
SDA
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