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De Minaur returns in Antwerp, Rublev & Tiafoe top seeds in Almaty, Stockholm: Scouting Report

ATP Tour action continues next week with three ATP 250 events: the Almaty Open, the European Open in Antwerp and the BNP Paribas Nordic Open in Stockholm.

The top seeds are Frances Tiafoe (Almaty), Alex de Minaur (Antwerp) and Andrey Rublev (Stockholm). ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch at each tournament.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN ALMATY
1) Top Seed Tiafoe: The American showed what he is capable of when he reached the semi-finals of the US Open. Will he be able to bring that level to the court in Almaty, where he will try to claim his first title of the season? The three-time ATP Tour champion will begin his tournament against Taro Daniel or a qualifier.

2) Tremendous Tabilo: Alejandro Tabilo has been one of the breakthrough stars of the 2024 season. The Chilean lefty began his year at No. 85 in the PIF ATP Rankings and has climbed as high as World No. 19. A champion in Auckland and Mallorca in 2024, the second seed will open his pursuit of a third trophy against Damir Dzumhur or Maximilian Marterer.

3) Mighty Machac: Quietly, Tomas Machac of Czechia has been one of the best players on the ATP Tour in the second half of the season. The Paris Olympics mixed doubles gold medalist (with Katerina Siniakova), the 23-year-old reached the Tokyo semi-finals before upsetting Carlos Alcaraz en route to the Shanghai semi-finals. Only Jannik Sinner was able to stop him. Machac, the fifth seed in Almaty, will take on Kazakhstani Timofey Skatov.

4) Shevchenko Leads Kazakhstani Charge: There are three Kazakhstanis in the Almaty main draw (before the completion of qualifying). Alexander Shevchenko, the World No. 58, leads the way. Skatov and Beibit Zhukayev received wild cards.

5) Lammons/Withrow Pushing For Turin Spot: For the second consecutive year, Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow are making a push to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals. The Americans are ninth in the PIF ATP Doubles Teams Rankings and will try to improve their standing as the top seeds in Kazakhstan.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN ANTWERP
1) De Minaur Returns: The top seed at the Belgian ATP 250 is De Minaur, who will compete for the first time since reaching the US Open quarter-finals due to injury. The Australian is ninth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, and will make his return against Roberto Carballes Baena or Dominik Koepfer.

2) Tsitsipas Second Seed: One year ago, Stefanos Tsitsipas won the doubles title in Antwerp with brother Petros Tsitsipas. The Greeks are defending their crown and Stefanos is the second seed in singles. This year’s Monte-Carlo champion will attempt to add a hard-court title to his 2024 collection. He will need to be sharp from the first ball against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard or a qualifier.

3) Belgians At Home: Will there be a home champion in singles or doubles for the first time in Antwerp? Zizou Bergs, Alexander Blockx and Raphael Collignon represent Belgium and will have the support of their local fans. In doubles, Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen will try to collect hardware.

4) Retiring Gasquet: This week Richard Gasquet announced through an interview with L’Equipe that 2025 Roland Garros will be the final tournament of his illustrious career. The 2016 Antwerp champion received a wild card into the event and will search for vintage form against sixth seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the first round.

5) Krawietz/Puetz Top Doubles Seeds: Kevin Krawietz captured glory at the European Open in 2019 with Andres Mies. This edition, he will pursue the trophy with another countryman, Tim Puetz, with whom he is sixth in the PIF ATP Doubles Teams Rankings. The second seeds are 2023 Nitto ATP Finals competitors Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin.

FIVE THINGS TO WATCH IN STOCKHOLM
1) Rublev On The Bubble: Top seed Andrey Rublev is in a tight battle in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. The 26-year-old, who is trying to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the fifth consecutive year, is eighth in the Live Race. He can help secure his standing with a deep run in Stockholm, where he will play Leo Borg or Alexandre Muller in his opening match.

2) High Live Race Consequences: Rublev is not the only player competing in Stockholm who is jockeying for Live Race position. Casper Ruud and Tommy Paul are in seventh and 11th, respectively. Ruud will open against Lorenzo Sonego or a qualifier, while 2021 champion Tommy Paul will try to move past Pedro Martinez or a qualifier.

3) Borg, Wawrinka & Ymer Wild Cards: This year’s Stockholm main draw singles wild cards went to Swede Leo Borg, the son of Bjorn Borg, former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka and home favourite Elias Ymer. Wawrinka debuted in Stockholm in 2010, when he advanced to the quarter-finals before losing to Roger Federer in three sets.

4) Former Champion Dimitrov: Grigor Dimitrov, the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion, is 10th in the Live Race, 645 points behind eighth-placed Rublev. The Bulgarian will hope that his fond memories of Stockholm, where he won his first ATP Tour title in 2013, help him narrow the deficit. Dimitrov will begin his event against Quentin Halys or Sumit Nagal.

5) Heliovaara/Patten Lead Doubles Field: This year’s Wimbledon doubles champions, Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten, are the top seeds in Stockholm. Having also triumphed together in Marrakech and Lyon, they will try to earn their fourth title of the season. The second seeds are Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski.

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Sinner happy with year-end No. 1, keen for more: 'It's not finished yet'

Jannik Sinner clinched ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours on Saturday by reaching the Rolex Shanghai Masters final. It is a big moment for the 23-year-old, but he made clear he will not rest on his laurels.

“’It’s a good feeling. I’m very happy to achieve this. It was an amazing season for me, and it’s not finished yet,” Sinner said. “Tomorrow is a great final ahead, first time here in Shanghai, so I’m looking forward to it, and then we [will] see how it goes. Hopefully it’s going to be a good match.”

Sinner will face four-time Shanghai champion Novak Djokovic, who will try to claim his 100th tour-level title in the match. But the Italian will take confidence knowing he will finish the year as the No. 1 player in the world no matter what happens in the final weeks of the season.

“Being No. 1 in the world at the end of the year, it was only a dream just to become No. 1. Now finishing it, it’s also a different feeling,” Sinner said. “But now during the tournament it’s a bit different, so I’m just trying to be focused for tomorrow, and then we [will] see how it goes.”

Watch Sinner SF Highlights:

Could Sinner have imagined this? “Not really,” he said. The San Candido native began 2024 as World No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings and has focused on staying in the moment to rise to the top of the sport.

“You cannot predict the future in one way. For me, I always try to improve as a player. For me it also depends how you start a season. If you start it in a good way like I did, winning Australia, then you have much more confidence throughout the whole season,” Sinner said of his Australian Open triumph. “The season is going amazingly, I just try to stay there every match I play, trying to find a solution somehow. That’s it.

“I think it’s very tough to predict the future in any case, so I’m just trying to enjoy this moment, and also trying to improve daily, and then we [will] see how it goes.”

List of active players to reach ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF 👇

Novak Djokovic
Rafael Nadal
Carlos Alcaraz
Jannik Sinner

End of list.#PIF | #ATPRankings | #partner pic.twitter.com/zuKvRWQYYV

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 12, 2024

Although Sinner is the first Italian to finish year-end No. 1, he is not surprised that someone from his country could do it.

“I always look on my side what I have to do, and what I try to achieve. I think it’s very nice for Italy because, Italy, it’s a very nice country. We have everything we need. We have amazing food, we have everything,” Sinner said. “We have mountains, we have sea, we have different mentalities coming from every part of Italy, it’s just nice.

“I’m very proud to be Italian, and just bringing back something for the fans, and then they are giving me so much love, so I’m happy to be in that position.
But there is not only me, we are so many great players, so many we have in Top 100, Top 200. It’s amazing that the tennis is growing, and hopefully it can grow even bigger.”

As happy as Sinner is with what he has accomplished this season, he has no intention of slowing down. The top seed will try to claim his first Shanghai title on Sunday in front of a crowd he enjoys.

“It’s an amazing atmosphere… It’s nice to be part of any encounter,” Sinner said. “The fans here, you can feel the love they give to you. It’s a different culture, so it’s also nice to see this.

“I enjoy it, it’s amazing. It’s also a Masters event, a very big tournament. I love to play here, to be on site, it’s very nice. It’s for sure one of the best tournaments we have throughout the year, so I’m very happy and glad to have a chance to play here my first final.”

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Can Sinner stop Djokovic's pursuit of historic 100th title in Shanghai final?

For years, Novak Djokovic has spoken about how important making tennis history is to him. From chasing the record for major singles titles to weeks at No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings and most recently an Olympic singles gold medal, the Serbian has reached every goal he has pursued.

On Sunday, the 37-year-old has an opportunity to check another major milestone off his list. Djokovic will try to claim his 100th tour-level title when he plays World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the Rolex Shanghai Masters final. Only Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) have accomplished the feat according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

“It feels like destiny to fight for a 100th title here in a place where I’ve had great success in the past, where I have tremendous support,” the four-time Shanghai champion said.

For a large majority of his finals, Djokovic has been the clear favourite. That is not the case at the season’s eighth ATP Masters 1000 event.

Sinner on Saturday clinched ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours, becoming the first Italian to do so. The 23-year-old owns a whopping 3,270-point lead in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin over second-placed Carlos Alcaraz, which he could extend to 3,620 points with a victory against Djokovic, who is in sixth.

To put that into perspective, Andrey Rublev, currently in line to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals in eighth place in the Live Race, has earned 3,580 points this season. That is how dominant this year’s Australian Open and US Open champion has been in 2024.

Watch Shanghai SF Highlights

Sinner is now 64-6, tying his wins total from 2023, when he set the record for most wins by a male player from Italy in a single season in the Open Era. There has been no let-up in his campaign. Of the San Candido native’s six losses, five have come against Top 10 opponents and his only other defeat was to World No. 12 Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals champion, who last year was World No. 3.

“He’s in form the past 12 months, best player in the world, incredible tennis, just so consistent, and [the] player to beat, no doubt, particularly on hard court,” Djokovic said. “He knows my game, I know his game. We haven’t played since Australia this year. Yeah, I’m hoping for the best. It’s going to take my highest level to win.”

Djokovic leads the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series 4-3, but Sinner has won three of their past four meetings, most recently in the Australian Open semi-finals. Entering that clash, 10-time champion Djokovic had never lost from the semi-finals on at Melbourne Park.

Sinner not only won, but did so convincingly, 6-1, 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-3. Djokovic admitted he was not near his best, but also credited his opponent.

“I think his serve improved a lot. He’s hitting his corners very well, and I think he [increased] his speed, as well. Serving bigger now and more precise,” Djokovic said in January. “He was always very calm, very composed in the court, but I think he struggled maybe to win the big matches, in the big moments. But now it’s coming together for him.”

At the time of that encounter, Sinner had never reached the final of a Grand Slam tournament. Now he is a two-time major champion and leads the ATP Tour this year with six titles.

As confident as Sinner will be walking on court Sunday, he knows the level Djokovic is capable of. The 37-year-old showed it in Paris when he bounced back from a defeat in the Wimbledon final against Carlos Alcaraz to defeat the Spaniard for the gold medal.

“We always had some very tough matches in the past,” Sinner said of facing Djokovic. “It’s going to be a very tough one, it’s one of the biggest challenges we have in our sport.

“I’m happy that I can play against him in the final, it’s even more special, and then we see how it goes. I mean, it’s very tough to predict this one.”

Sinner, who has won 20 of his past 21 matches, is in better form. He has shown great consistency in both his game and results throughout the season. There is no secret about what his gameplan will be. The top seed will try to control the action with his unrelenting groundstrokes and break through the Serbian’s typically indefatigable defences.

Djokovic, who is competing in his first ATP Masters 1000 final of the season, will try to rely on his serve to battle through service games and use his defensive skills to make Sinner uncomfortable and try to break his rhythm.

Sinner, who can claim his fourth different hard-court Masters 1000 crown (also Canada, Cincinnati and Miami) in 14 months, has the form, and Djokovic the hunger for history. Who will prevail on Sunday in Shanghai?

“I’m in a great position to win the title, fighting for my 100th title overall, and 41st Masters [1000], against the best player in the world,” Djokovic said. “I won’t be a favourite on the court, but hopefully I’ll be able to come out physically fresh enough to challenge him for what may be [a] long match. I have to expect probably the toughest encounter of the tournament, and I have to be ready for it, so I look forward to a great challenge.”

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Djokovic overcomes hip issues to set up Sinner final

Novak Djokovic will face Jannik Sinner in the Shanghai Masters final on Sunday as he bids for a 100th ATP title.

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Djokovic maintains dominance vs. Fritz, sets Sinner final in Shanghai

Novak Djokovic is on the brink of a rare milestone at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

Aiming to become just the third man to lift 100 tour-level singles titles, the Serbian maintained his perfect Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Taylor Fritz to book his spot in the championship match at the Chinese ATP Masters 1000. Djokovic mixed trademark, gritty defence with spectacular shotmaking from the baseline in Saturday’s clash to prevail 6-4, 7-6(6), his 10th straight tour-level victory against Fritz, and set a final showdown with World No. 1 Jannik Sinner.

“I came to Shanghai after five years of not playing in China, the place where I’ve always had great success, both in Shanghai and Beijing,” said Djokovic, when asked about the prospect of joining Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) in the 100-plus titles club. “[I’ve won] many titles, had great battles and great performances. I’ve said it many times, the support that I get here is tremendous and I’m very grateful.

“That creates an energy that keeps me going, keeps me running, so I did come here definitely with a vision and a desire to get to the final and fight for a 100th title. I get that chance against the best player in the world, and let’s see what happens.”

ONE win away from a century of titles ‼️@DjokerNole wins the epic battle v. Fritz 6-4 7-6 to advance to his 59th ATP Masters 1000 final!@SH_RolexMasters | #RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/PopX6Gqdso

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 12, 2024

Chasing his 50th tour-level win of the season, Fritz dug deep in the opening game against Djokovic to hold serve from 0/40, but the American struggled to make an impact in return games for much of the semi-final encounter. He earned only two break points in the match, according to Infosys ATP Stats, when Djokovic was down 3-4, 15/40 in the second set. Yet the Serbian rallied to hold serve, and Fritz was later unable to force a deciding set after letting slip a set point behind his own serve at 6/5 in the tie-break.

Djokovic had acknowledged a ‘strange feeling’ in his unbandaged left knee during his quarter-final victory against Jakub Mensik on Friday, and he again appeared in discomfort during the closing stages against Fritz. He received treatment from the physio on the issue at 5-6 in the second set, but he was nonetheless able to grind out victory via the second-set tie-break.

“It always takes it out of me, these kinds of battles, but particularly towards the end of the tournament,” said Djokovic. “At this stage of my career, I’m doing my best to recover and I had some issues here and there on the court, physically, yesterday and today. But I managed to overcome it. It was a stern test. Taylor is in form, playing probably the best tennis of his life coming off a Grand Slam final, and he’s playing really well, particularly on this surface.

“He’s serving big, so I knew it was going to be a big test for me. I did not want to get to a third set, and I’m just glad to overcome in two.”

With his one-hour, 56-minute win against Fritz, the record 40-time Masters 1000 titlist Djokovic advanced to his record-extending 59th final at that level, and his first of the 2024 season. The 37-year-old has now reached a Masters 1000 title match in 17 different seasons (2007-09, 2011-24), the same number as his great ‘Big Three’ rivals Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Standing between Djokovic and a record-extending fifth title in Shanghai is World No. 1 Sinner, who earlier defeated Tomas Machac 6-4, 7-5. Djokovic leads the Italian 4-3 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series, although Sinner has won the pair’s two most recent meetings at the 2023 Davis Cup Finals and the 2024 Australian Open.

Djokovic’s latest victory in Shanghai was another boost to his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals for the 17th time. The 37-year-old rose above Casper Ruud into sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin by defeating Fritz on Saturday evening.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

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Gauff hits 21 double faults as Sabalenka reaches final

Aryna Sabalenka recovers from a set down against Coco Gauff to reach the final of the Wuhan Open.

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Gonzalez/Molteni reach Shanghai final, boost Turin hopes

Are Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni rounding into form in time to seal a Nitto ATP Finals spot?

The Argentine pair on Saturday edged Adam Pavlasek and Jean-Julien Rojer 4-6, 7-5. 10-8 to reach the final at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. Gonzalez and Molteni’s 99-minute triumph was based on a rock-solid serving performance, and they finished the match having won 83 per cent (40/48) of points behind their first deliveries, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

After arriving in Shanghai having lost seven of their past 12 tour-level matches, Gonzalez and Molteni will now contest their second ATP Masters 1000 final after they lifted the 2023 Cincinnati title. They have so far risen four spots to 10th in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings as a result of their run in China, where they have boosted their hopes of a second Nitto ATP Finals appearance after they made their debut in Turin last year.

Awaiting Gonzalez and Molteni in Sunday’s championship match inside Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena will be Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic. The two teams have split their previous two Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings so far, with Koolhof/Mektic winning in January in Auckland before Gonzalez/Molteni avenged that loss in April in Barcelona.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

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Sinner clinches year-end No. 1 in PIF ATP Rankings

Jannik Sinner has clinched ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours — becoming the first Italian to do so — following his semi-final win at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

On 10 June, Sinner became the first man or woman from his country to reach World No. 1 in singles since computerised rankings were introduced in 1973. He has not relinquished his place since and will retain it at least through the end of the season.

“It’s amazing. It’s something you dream of when you are a kid, when you are young, just to reach the No. 1. Now having the year-end, it’s also a different and special feeling,” Sinner said. “It means so much to me, obviously. This is something I could not accomplish without all the people I have around — the family and friends and also a big credit to my team.”

🚨 HISTORY MADE! 🚨

🇮🇹 Jannik Sinner claims ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF, becoming the first Italian to achieve this historic feat! 🏆#PIF | #ATPRankings | #partner pic.twitter.com/1nKno7Gs0v

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 12, 2024

The 23-year-old is the 19th player to claim year-end World No. 1 and just the fourth active player, joining Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz.

Sinner won the Australian Open to begin his season and has not looked back since. After a battle with Alcaraz through the middle of the season for year-end No. 1 honours, he has pulled away to claim the prestigious award. He has captured an ATP Tour-leading six titles — including his first major triumphs at the Australian Open and US Open — and will try to win his seventh trophy of 2024 on Sunday in the Rolex Shanghai Masters final.

By emerging victorious in Melbourne and New York, Sinner became just the third man in the Open Era to claim his first two Grand Slam titles in the same season. He was the first to accomplish the feat since Guillermo Vilas in 1977.

Sinner entered the season with momentum after reaching the championship match at the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals and leading Italy to Davis Cup glory. Beginning 2024 at World No. 4, he rallied from a two-set deficit to Daniil Medvedev in the final at Melbourne Park to become just the second Italian man to claim Grand Slam glory in the Open Era, joining Adriano Panatta (1976 Roland Garros).

Sinner would win his first 16 matches of the year and his record for the season stands at 64-6. The 23-year-old has matched his personal-best wins total from last year, when he set the record for most wins by a male player from his country in a single season in the Open Era.

The San Candido native entered the year with one ATP Masters 1000 title and has added two more, lifting trophies in Miami and Cincinnati. He also claimed crowns at ATP 500 events in Rotterdam and Halle.

By adding to his majors total at the US Open, Sinner became one of only four players who have triumphed at the Australian Open and US Open on hard court in the same season. The other three are Djokovic, Roger Federer and Mats Wilander.

Sinner has already held World No. 1 for 17 weeks and will continue adding to his total. He ranks 18th among the 29 players who have reached World No. 1 in weeks at the top of the sport.

ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said: “Finishing the season as the best player in the world is the ultimate achievement in tennis. Jannik’s determination and tireless work ethic earn him his place in history as the first Italian to achieve this milestone. At just 23 years old, he should be immensely proud of everything he has accomplished. We look forward with great excitement to watching his journey continue.”

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