The ATP Tour reached a superb climax at the ATP Finals, with world number one Jannik Sinner emerging victorious in Turin.
Sinner beat Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 to win his first ATP Finals title, having beaten the American by the same scoreline in their group stage clash.
Fritz has moved to career-high fourth ranking following his run in Italy, having progressed with wins over Daniil Medvedev and Alex de Minaur.
He then overcame Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals, setting up a US Open final reunion with home favourite Sinner.
And the 23-year-old Italian didn’t disappoint his adoring fans, with Sinner’s serving particularly impressing Fritz.
The world number one clinched his eighth title of the season at the ATP Finals, leading to huge praise from former players Sam Querrey, John Isner and Steve Johnson.
All three agreed that Sinner has improved the most on the ATP Tour in 2024, with Querrey saying on the Nothing Major Podcast: “This is kind of like almost a weird thing to say, but my most improved player for the year is Sinner. Even though he ended last year as two or three in the world I think he has got that much better.”
Johnson responded: “I don’t think it’s a weird thing to say. He has won two slams this year, he has really come into his own, not that he hasn’t before. But there is a different level that none of us reached.
READ MORE: Who is Jannik Sinner? Everything you need to know about the Italian tennis star and his rise to the top
“There is a different level to cracking the top 10 and solidifying yourself as a favourite for every event you go to. Even the US Open this year, with everything surrounding Sinner, he still goes and wins the tournament.
“To be that mentally strong and throw the noise out, it is pretty impressive what he did those couple of weeks, but every week it seems he is talked about as the favourite and he is the favourite and I still think there is a lot of ways these guys can improve which is scary for the rest of the tour.”
Sinner has enjoyed one of the most impressive seasons in recent history, one that will take some beating to better.
He set the tone from the very beginning by lifting his maiden Grand Slam trophy at the Australian Open, and ended his major season with the US Open title.
READ MORE: Jannik Sinner now shares what was happening in his practice sessions at the ATP Finals after lifting the trophy
The 23-year-old boasts a phenomenal 69-6 win-loss record, and unsurprisingly leads the way in the year-end ATP rankings by some margin.
Sharing his thoughts on just how much Sinner has improved, Isner noted: “I would give it to Sinner or Fritz, but probably Sinner. I would put Taylor number two.
Tournament | Surface |
Nitto ATP Finals | Indoor/Hard |
ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai | Outdoor/Hard |
US Open | Outdoor/Hard |
ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati | Outdoor/Hard |
Halle | Outdoor/Grass |
ATP Masters 1000 Miami | Outdoor/Hard |
Rotterdam | Indoor/Hard |
Australian Open | Outdoor/Hard |
“His ability to keep raising the bar and it appears him and [Carlos] Alcaraz will be tussling for Grand Slams going forward, but his ability to hit the centre of the racket no matter where he is on the court is incredible.
“He keeps on improving. He has improved his net game, he serves and volleys some, he comes in – three or four years ago he didn’t come to the net at all. On top of that he has changed his serve, he has gone from the platform motion to the pinpoint motion so he keeps improving and that’s what the greats do.”
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