Alcaraz also has a chance to work his way into No. 1 battle

Jannik Sinner’s surge has been the biggest story of the 2024 season. As the clay-court season begins, the Italian has an opportunity to make even more history by making a push to pass Novak Djokovic and become the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings.

After winning the Miami Open presented by Itau, the 22-year-old on Monday climbed to a career-high World No. 2, 1,015 points behind World No. 1 Djokovic. If Sinner maintains his current form, he will have an opportunity to make his move later in the clay season, setting the stage for a tantalising battle for top spot with Djokovic and former World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz looming.

“For sure it means a lot to me, but more importantly, it was a great performance for me, especially in that semi-final and final, which for me it’s more important,” Sinner said after defeating Grigor Dimitrov in the Miami final. “Being No. 2, it’s an amazing feeling. I never thought to come to this point. I come from a very normal family. My dad is still working, as my mom, too. For me, sport is one thing, and life is different. I’m very happy to be in this position.”

If you remove all points Djokovic (2,315) and Sinner (585) are defending during the clay season, Sinner has 715 more points (8,125 to 7,410). The critical moment in the battle will likely come at Roland Garros, where defending champion Djokovic will have 2,000 points coming off and Sinner will only drop 45 points following a second-round loss in 2023.

That does not mean that Djokovic can rest easy at No. 1 in the coming weeks. Among the upcoming tournaments are three clay-court ATP Masters 1000 events, with plenty of points up for grabs.

Sinner will be confident heading into the clay season after his 22-1 start to the year. The 22-year-old’s only loss came in the Indian Wells semi-finals against Carlos Alcaraz. He has won titles at the Australian Open, Rotterdam and Miami.

With that start, the Italian has already become the highest-ranked player from his country in PIF ATP Rankings history (since 1973). Now he will set his sights set on becoming the 29th player to reach World No. 1.

Djokovic will not relinquish his position without a fight, though. The 36-year-old just began his record 419th week at the top of men’s tennis and on Sunday will break Roger Federer’s mark as the oldest World No. 1 in history.

The Serbian owns an 8-3 record in 2024, including his run to the Australian Open semi-finals, where he lost to Sinner in four sets. Despite a third-round loss at Indian Wells, Djokovic will be confident heading into Monte-Carlo, where he is a two-time champion and will try to claim his record-extending 41st Masters 1000 trophy. He has won more than 80 per cent of his tour-level matches on clay according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Alcaraz is still in the battle, too. The World No. 3, currently 65 points behind Sinner, is defending 2,265 points on clay. That puts the Spaniard on the back foot, but last year’s Madrid and Barcelona champion has proven his prowess on clay and showed his return to form at Indian Wells, where he successfully defended his trophy.

Alcaraz first reached World No. 1 after the 2022 US Open and will be keen to add to the 36 weeks he has spent in the position.

Italian tennis prodigy Jannik Sinner revealed his biggest impression about Novak Djokovic. Sinner had faced off against Djokovic many times on the court. Sometimes he truly bagged his victory against the Serbian tennis legend much like the Davis Cup 2023 or the Australian Open 2024. At times, the world’s number-one tennis star also took over Sinner like the Nitto ATP finals last year.

Among many of the famous competitors, Novak Djokovic always received an exclusive position in Jannik Sinner’s life. Now this Italian tennis star revealed Djokovic as one of the indomitable opponents in professional tennis. Want to know Jannik Sinner’s exact words?

Italy’s Jannik Sinner spoke about his tennis rivalries amid keeping Djokovic in an exclusive position

In a recent interview, Jannik Sinner was asked about his true opponents. In his response, Sinner spoke about many players but Djokovic still held a high ground in the list. Sinner commented- “Zverev and Medvedev are playing very well. Carlos ( Alcaraz , ed.) has already won two Slams and is two years younger than me. And then there’s Nole ( Đokovic , ed.). Nole is Nole.”

Sinner’s comment expressed that despite his on-court rivalry with Alcaraz, he finds Djokovic a tough competitor. So much so, Sinner’s statement didn’t find any replacement for Novak Djokovic on the court.

Amid such intense admiration for Djokovic, Sinner previously revealed his liking for the Serbian tennis god in an interview after the Australian Open 2024. Sinner said- “This story is true and I had the chance already when I was younger, 17, 16 to practice with him in Monaco. And I think already there the process of trying to learn from the best players in the world started. Then, obviously, the match is different, he told me after the match try to move the ball a little bit more, not being a little bit predictable,”

This means despite finding Djokovic a hard competition on the court, Sinner still looks forward to learning from the Serbian tennis maestro.

After defeating Djokovic in Davis Cup 2023, Sinner expressed his pride in his tennis skills
While Sinner admitted Djokovic was one of the fearful tennis rivalries, the former expressed his joy in defeating the world’s number-one last year in Davis Cup.

Sinner commented- “Obviously before the match we were talking that it was a really important test today, you know, trying to understand what to expect before the match. Then I think we made a good tactical moment also before the match, and then obviously playing it is a little bit different but I think I have to be really proud about how I handle the situation,”

Jannik Sinner’s comment about Novak Djokovic expressed the Italian tennis prodigy’s true admiration for the Serbian tennis stalwart. It also showed that Novak Djokovic will always be indomitable on the tennis court, even for his biggest rival at the moment, Jannik Sinner.

Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings projection following the Australian Open

Despite losing in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic still has a stranglehold on the No. 1 Pepperstone ATP Ranking, while champion Jannik Sinner has a chance to make a charge for World No. 2 in the coming months.

Through Miami at the end of March, Djokovic will only need to defend 180 points from Dubai, where last year he reached the semi-finals. The 36-year-old did not compete in Indian Wells or Miami in 2023 and has a big opportunity to gain points.

The three players directly below Djokovic — Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Sinner — will all be defending a significant number of points in the next two months. World No. 3 and Australian Open finalist Medvedev has the most of the group to defend, with 2,850 points. The 27-year-old went through a stretch last year during which he won titles in Rotterdam, Doha, Dubai and Miami, while also reaching the Indian Wells final.

Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings

If you remove all the points that will drop for the quartet through March, Sinner will trail World No. 2 Alcaraz by just 545 points, giving the Italian an opening to maintain his momentum from the past six months. The 22-year-old won ATP 500 titles in Beijing and Vienna before making the championship match at the Nitto ATP Finals.

He hit his highest note yet Sunday when he earned Grand Slam glory at Melbourne Park. Sinner has won 20 of his past 21 matches.

The Top 4 players in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings have separated themselves from the pack. Djokovic, Alcaraz, Medvedev and Sinner are all within 1,545 points, with no player within 3,000 points of them. World No. 5 Andrey Rublev has 5,050 points and World No. 6 Alexander Zverev has 5,030 points.

Djokovic has held World No. 1 for a record 410 weeks, 100 more than any other player in Pepperstone ATP Rankings history (since 1973). Roger Federer was in top spot for 310 weeks in his career.

Alcaraz and Medvedev have also earned World No. 1, while Sinner is at a career-high World No. 4.

Novak Djokovic fell to his first defeat at the Australian Open in a staggering 2,195 days as he was defeated by Jannik Sinner on Friday, 6-1 6-2 6-7(6-8) 6-3.

The 22-year-old Sinner will now contest the first grand slam final of his career having ended Djokovic’s bid for an 11th title in Melbourne.

It also means that Djokovic’s pursuit of an outright record 25th grand slam title is put on hold after he was outplayed by the Italian across their three hour, 22-minute contest.

Sinner, who dropped his first set of the tournament in Friday’s semifinal, is the youngest male finalist at the Australian Open since Djokovic won the title in 2008 and will face Russian Daniil Medvedev in Sunday’s showpiece.

“It was a very, very tough match,” Sinner said in his on-court interview. “I started off really well. He missed for two sets, I felt like he was not feeling that great on court, so I just tried to keep pushing.”

You have to go all the way back to his fourth-round defeat against Chung Hyeon in 2018 for the previous time that Djokovic lost in Melbourne – 33 matches ago.

‘Nole’ later gave a very frank assessment of his performance against Sinner, which was also his first semifinal defeat at the Australian Open.

“He outplayed me completely today,” Djokovic told reporters. “Look, I was, in a way, shocked with my level, in a bad way. There was not much I was doing right in the first two sets.

“I guess this is one of the worst grand slam matches I’ve ever played – at least that I remember. Not a very pleasant feeling playing this way. But at the same time, credit to him for doing everything better than me in every aspect of the game.”

Djokovic was uncharacteristically sloppy in the opening exchanges and produced 29 unforced errors across the first two sets. Sinner, by contrast, had only eight, and his accuracy and aggression earned him a 2-0 lead in just an hour and 13 minutes.

Tightening his game in the third set, Djokovic looked for a foothold in the contest but was unable to find an opening on Sinner’s serve. Indeed, this was the first time in his career that Djokovic failed to produce a break-point chance in a completed grand slam match, according to Opta.

After the third set remained on serve, Sinner engineered a match point in the tie-break but was unable to take advantage as he netted a forehand.

Instead, Djokovic won the next three points, conjuring flashbacks to the 2022 Wimbledon quarterfinal when the Serb came back from 2-0 down to win.

But there was to be no repeat of those heroics on this occasion. Djokovic was broken at 2-1 in the fourth set having held a 40-0 lead, and from there, Sinner was always in control and could see out the biggest victory of his career to date.

He has now beaten Djokovic in three of their last four matches dating back to November.

“I was looking forward to this match, it’s always nice to have this kind of player you can learn from,” Sinner said. “I lost last year [against Djokovic] in the semis in Wimbledon. I think I learned a lot from that; it’s all part of the process.”

Medvedev comes back to win in five sets
In Friday’s other semifinal, Medvedev came from two sets down to defeat Germany’s Alexander Zverev 5-7 3-6 7-6(7-4) 7-6(7-5) 6-3 in a marathon contest.

The third seed will contest his sixth grand slam final against Sinner having endured a difficult path to this point, winning in five sets on three occasions.

The four-hour, 18-minute match against Zverev was Medvedev’s second-longest of the tournament so far, and it was an encounter filled with brutal, energy-sapping rallies, particularly in the opening stages.

He was on the back foot throughout the semifinal, coming from 4-1 down in the first set before being broken late on, then being outplayed in the second set as Zverev upped his game.

But Medvedev found a way to stay in the match through the next two sets, winning both in tie-breaks as neither player could break the other’s serve.

Securing the crucial break at 2-2 in the fifth set, Medvedev then broke Zverev again at 5-3 to set up a third final in Melbourne.

“I was a little bit lost, but during the third set, I started saying to myself, ‘If I lose this match, I just want to be proud of myself, I want to fight till the end, fight for every point, and if I lose I lose,’” Medvedev said in his on-court interview. “I managed to win, so I’m very proud.”

The 27-year-old owns a 6-3 advantage in his head-to-head against Sinner, but the latter enters the match the fresher of the two having won the majority of his matches in three sets.

To make the stakes even higher, there will also be a first-time Australian Open champion crowned in Rod Laver Arena on Sunday.

Novak Djokovic celebrated his 100th match at the Australian Open with a dominant victory over Tomas Martin Etcheverry to reach the fourth round.

Top seed Djokovic showed the best form of his title defense so far to beat the 30th seed 6-3 6-3 7-6 (7-2).

It keeps the 36-year-old on course for a 25th Grand Slam title, which would take him clear of the all-time record held by Australian Margaret Court.

“It was the best performance I’ve had during this tournament,” Djokovic said.

He will next play France’s 35-year-old Adrian Mannarino, who beat 21-year-old Ben Shelton in his third five-set win in a row.

Djokovic has won 92 of his 100 matches in Melbourne, and is now the first man to play 100 matches at all four Grand Slams, having played 108 matches at the French Open, 103 at Wimbledon and 101 at the US Open.

The 10-time champion seemed distracted at times in his first two matches at Melbourne Park, dropping sets against Dino Prizmic and then Alexei Popyrin. He was also involved in a confrontation with a fan against Popyrin.

But tasked with Argentine Etcheverry, who had impressively brushed aside Andy Murray and Gael Monfils in the previous rounds, the Serb was clinical in securing a 31st win in a row at the Australian Open.

He lost just four points on serve as he dictated from the baseline in the first set, breaking in the sixth game as Etcheverry pushed a backhand long under intense pressure.

A dismissive forehand return winner earned Djokovic an early break in the second set and he took his opponent’s serve again to clinch the set. At one stage the crowd on Rod Laver Arena gasped as he produced a trademark, stunning backhand winner on the stretch.

Etcheverry played his best tennis in the third set and forced a tie-break but Djokovic took the first three points of the breaker to ease through, wrapping up victory without facing a break point in the match.

“Obviously I’m pleased with the way I played throughout the entire match, particularly the first two sets,” Djokovic said.

“He stepped it up and raised his level of tennis in the third set. We went toe-to-toe in the tiebreaker.”

Sinner positions himself as one of Djokovic’s main rivals

Djokovic has won all four of his previous meetings with his next opponent Mannarino, although the left-hander has reached a career-high ranking of 19 in the world at the age of 35.

Mannarino’s 7-6 (7-4) 1-6 6-7 (2-7) 6-3 6-4 win against American Shelton came in four hours and 46 minutes, following on from five-set victories against former champion Stan Wawrinka and Spain’s Jaume Munar in the first and second rounds respectively.

Earlier Jannik Sinner showed why he is one of Djokovic’s biggest rivals for the title by thrashing Argentine Sebastian Baez.

The Italian fourth seed raced into the second week in Melbourne with a 6-0 6-1 6-3 win in less than two hours.

the 22-year-old won four titles in 2023 and ended it on a high by leading Italy to a first Davis Cup title for 47 years.

A relaxed Sinner showed his good mood on Margaret Court Arena as he joked with his coaching team moments before securing the win against 26th seed Baez.

“In matches, I used to be really, really serious, which I still am, obviously,” he added.

“But sometimes you have to smile, you have to laugh a little bit, because it’s also important and it changes your attitude on the court. I think in a positive way.”

Sinner will face Karen Khachanov next after the Russian 15th seed overcame a third-set wobble to beat Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 7-6 (7-5).

Also on Friday, Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Frenchman Luca Van Assche to set up a fourth-round meeting with American 12th seed Taylor Fritz.

The Greek seventh seed rushed into a two-set lead, but had to fight back from a 2-0 deficit in the third to win 6-3 6-0 6-4.

Meanwhile, Fritz came from a set down to beat Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan 3-6 6-4 6-2 6-2.

Home favourite Alex de Minaur, the 10th seed, also progressed with a 6-3 6-3 6-1 win over Italian qualifier Flavio Cobolli.