The absence of the winner of the last two editions will redistribute the cards a little for the eight contenders for the title of king of kings. With higher chances of success for some, as our consultant of the day analyzes.
Djokovic renounces the Masters.
Jannik Sinner: “The favors”
“He is clearly the favorite. His season is simply incredible. There is not a tournament where he has not been at least until the quarter-finals. Since the end of the summer, he has everything won, except for the final in Beijing where he lost 7-6 in the third against Alcaraz. Ill, he withdrew from Bercy to avoid taking any risks. Last year, he had. already played very well in this Masters where he lost in the final against Djoko It was there that he really revealed himself, that he took on another dimension before winning the Australian Open. In addition, the Masters takes place at home. Turin. He has really reached a milestone in the last year. Not to mention he handled his positive doping test story quite well.”
Alexander Zverev : “The fit man”
“He’s the man in form at the end of the season. I watched his end of the tournament in Paris, whether against Rune or Humbert in the final, it was very solid, very strong. The serve was really impressive In addition, the German has already won the Masters twice in 2018 and 2021. He has won the most matches this season. He has surpassed Sinner and Alcaraz in the number of victories. the most played, the most won. He finishes well, he’s in good shape. He’s doing really well at the Masters.”
With already big ambitions for next season: “In 2025, he will try to win his first Grand Slam. Honestly, Zverev is the greatest player in history to never have won a Major. He won everything: Masters 1000, the Games and the Masters. He is second in the world. He really misses this Grand Slam title. I think if he manages to get one, it could unlock something in his head.”
Carlos Alcaraz: “Not his favorite surface”
“Alcaraz is capable of anything. Alcaraz, there are two Grand Slams this year. But on a surface like the one we will find in Turin, he can miss out more quickly. But, if he finds the rhythm, it will be monstrous This year, at one point, we felt he was struggling a bit and, behind him, he won Roland Garros and Wimbledon. He remained Sinner’s great rival, whom he beat in the final in Beijing. he is good, he is the one who has the most variety in his game. Afterwards, very fast indoor surfaces, it is perhaps not his favorite thing. It corresponds better to Sinner who is better outdoors. But it still remains a favorite. I hope it will be at a great level, that we can witness a great duel with Sinner, in particular.”
Daniil Medvedev: “It’s complicated”
“The Russian has still taken a step back since Sinner and Alcaraz took power. He is having a complicated end to the season with shoulder discomfort. As a result, it is less easy with his serve which represents a important weapon of his game. He did not reassure me at the end of the season, whether at Bercy or in Shanghai. He does not arrive with full confidence at this Masters. In 2024, he only beat Sinner. ‘only once in five matches, at Wimbledon and lost his three matches against Alcaraz. A small inferiority complex is being created. Medvedev is in a bit of difficulty attacking the Masters.
Taylor Fritz : “A potential surprise”
“The American can be one of the surprises of the Masters. He is having a good year. It is constant and he has gained confidence thanks, in particular, to his final at the US Open. He assumes himself as a player of the top 10. He has become a big client. He has a good forehand and he serves well. As Turin is located slightly at altitude, this could favor him in this tournament because he made a move. superb season on fast surfaces The others. players will have to be wary of him. Especially with the format where you have two players coming out of each group, he can be really dangerous.
Casper Ruud: “Below the others”
“He’s the guy who is the worst on the field. Afterwards, I hope for the beauty of the Masters that he will contradict me. He had a very complicated second part of the season. He didn’t win many hard matches, both outdoors and indoors. I was even surprised that he managed to get his ticket to the Masters. He did so many big things at the start of the year that it saved him a little. I had the impression that a Dimitrov would have been more interesting in his place in this Masters But, there you go, he deserves his qualification. He is not even the last one to be qualified, he is really the guy who will be below. Hard is not his best surface. It will be complicated for him.”
Alex de Minaur: “My favorite”
“This first at the Masters is a great reward. Alex is my favorite. He’s a guy that I’ve always found very strong. I’ve seen him a lot, he trained quite a bit with David Goffin. And, in matches, David has always had a lot of trouble against him. He’s a player for whom I have a lot of admiration. He’s a small player who doesn’t have the same weapons as his opponents. displays an exemplary mentality and feels the game terribly well. He remains on a very regular season with three quarter-finals in Grand Slams and he makes an eighth in Australia with an epic match against Rublev. We will have to play well to beat him because he will be on target from the first to the last point. of certain guys, like Ruud, Medvedev and Rublev, why not see the Australian come out of his group. It will be his first Masters, he has nothing to lose.
Andrey Rublev: “A weird season”
“The Russian is having a strange season. Before, he was really a guy who displayed great consistency. He perhaps didn’t make it to the end of the big tournaments but he rarely lost against the smaller ones. And I find that this 2024 season, it was a bit the opposite. He made some big moves with a victory at the Masters 1000 in Madrid and a final in Canada but he really had some holes too. And his attitude was sometimes weird. has his disqualification in Dubai where he attacks a line judge but also other tantrums Since the US Open, he hasn’t done anything terrible. don’t place him among the big outsiders.”
