De Minaur: Racing to his Turin debut
De Minaur: Racing to his Turin debut
With Novak Djokovic unable to compete due to injury, the field for the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals is now set. Casper Ruud, Alex de Minaur and Andrey Rublev have claimed the final three singles positions at the season finale, which will be played at the Inalpi Arena in Turin from 10-17 November.
The stars will join Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Taylor Fritz in the field.
Ruud returns to the year-end championships two years after claiming one of the best results of his career at the tournament. The Norwegian reached the title decider at the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals and will make his third overall appearance in the prestigious event.
De Minaur is set to debut at the Nitto ATP Finals and become the first Australian singles player to compete in the season finale since former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings Lleyton Hewitt made the final in 2004.
Rublev will make his fifth consecutive appearance in the season finale. After participating in the event’s final year in London, he has qualified for all four editions held in Turin.
This year’s Nitto ATP Finals will award $15.25 million in prize money, with the singles champion having the chance to earn a record-breaking $4.8 million — the largest winner’s prize on the men’s tour — if he lifts the trophy without losing a match.
ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said: “Many congratulations to all the players who’ve earned the right to battle for the last title of the season at the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals. After an incredible year, the best in tennis are headed to Turin for what promises to be an unforgettable showdown. With the biggest winner’s prize purse on the men’s tour and one of the sport’s most prestigious titles on the line, this event is the ultimate stage to cap off a thrilling season.”
[ATP APP]All eight players in the field have previously qualified for or competed in the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF. Sinner (2019) and Alcaraz (2021) are former champions of the event, while De Minaur twice made the final (2018-19) and Rublev also advanced to the championship match (2017). It is also the first year in which all eight singles players have been in their 20s since 2010.
Medvedev and Zverev are the two players in the field who have previously won the Nitto ATP Finals. Medvedev triumphed in the event’s final year in London (2020), and Zverev was victorious in 2018 and 2021.
Sinner, Alcaraz and Medvedev have reached No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings. Sinner has already clinched ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours, becoming the first Italian to achieve the feat.
The doubles field is also set. Marcelo Arevalo/Mate Pavic, Marcel Granollers/Horacio Zeballos, Wesley Koolhof/Nikola Mektic, Simone Bolelli/Andrea Vavassori, Max Purcell/Jordan Thompson, Rohan Bopanna/Matthew Ebden, Harri Heliovaara/Henry Patten and Kevin Krawietz/Tim Puetz will compete for the title at the Inalpi Arena.
DRAW CEREMONY
This will be the fourth edition of the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. The draw is set to take place on Thursday 7 November at approximately 12:45 p.m. CET, following the pre-tournament press conference.
In recognition of the first No.1s in the PIF ATP Rankings, and the most successful doubles team in history, the singles groups for this year’s Nitto ATP Finals will be the Ilie Nastase Group and the John Newcombe Group, while the doubles groups will be the Bob Bryan Group and the Mike Bryan Group.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Defending champion Novak Djokovic pulls out of the ATP Finals because of injury, a move which sets the eight-man field for the event.
Novak Djokovic has announced that he will not play the Nitto ATP Finals, which will be held 10-17 November in Turin, Italy.
Djokovic is a seven-time champion at the season finale, but cited injury as the reason for his announcement.
“I was really looking forward to being there, but due to ongoing injury I won’t be playing next week,” Djokovic wrote in an Instagram Story. “Apologies to those who were planning to see me. Wishing all the players a great tournament. See you soon!”
Djokovic has a 37-9 match record on the year, highlighted by his victory at the Paris Olympics, where he completed the career Golden Slam by winning his 99th tour-level title.
[ATP APP]Djokovic, 37, won last year’s title in Turin by defeating Jannik Sinner in the final. He first triumphed at the season finale in 2008, when the tournament was known as the Tennis Masters Cup.
Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Taylor Fritz had earned their places at the Inalpi Arena ahead of Djokovic’s announcement.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Cameron Norrie secures his first win on the ATP Tour since July with victory over Roberto Carballes Baena at the Moselle Open.
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It felt as if it was a full-circle moment for Richard Gasquet on Monday at the Moselle Open.
The 38-year-old, who made the first of his 33 ATP Tour finals in Metz, secured a thrilling opening-round comeback against Thiago Monteiro to stay alive in his final campaign at the tournament. Gasquet saved a match point to prevail 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(6) and record his first tour-level win since May.
“It’s important for me to play here, it’s the last time I’m playing in Metz, so I want to do well,” said Gasquet, who is retiring at the conclusion of Roland Garros 2025. “It’s a big honour for me [to receive a wild card].
“I am really happy with the way I played, the way I felt, so it’s a big win for me. Everything started here [in Metz]. It’s where I reached my first ATP Tour final. I have great memories playing here, so I am really happy with the way I played today.”
Resilience personified 👏@richardgasquet1 completes a miraculous comeback, saving a MP, moving past Monteiro in a three-set thriller 4-6 6-4 7-6(6)! @MoselleOpen | #MoselleOpen pic.twitter.com/tMVDRarI7l
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 4, 2024
Gasquet, the former No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings, produced a clinical performance on serve throughout the match. The wild card, however, was particularly dialled in during the final set, during which he won 19 out of 20 points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
After improving to 16-10 in Metz, Gasquet will face #NextGenATP star Alex Michelsen in the second round.
Elsewhere, Cameron Norrie battled from the brink of defeat to record his first tour-level win since July. The 29-year-old trailed a break in the deciding set, but dug deep for a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over Roberto Carballes Baena.
“I was happy with the way I turned it around, it’s nice to get a win after my injury,” said Norrie who picked up a forearm injury that kept him out of the Olympics and the North American hard-court swing.
“He fought really hard today, he’s a great competitor. I managed to get a little bit lucky in the third set, and I had some good support. It was nice to get over the line in the end.”
Norrie, who is just the second British singles player in Metz tournament history (Andy Murray, 2007 & 2021), will next face third seed Grigor Dimitrov.
[ATP APP]On a day of French success, lucky loser Pierre-Hugues Herbert stood firm to defeat sixth seed Pedro Martinez 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(4). The 33-year-old’s triumph in the pair’s maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head series was his first tour-level win since reaching the semi-finals in Metz as a wild card in 2023.
Aiming to emulate that success, Herbert will next battle countryman Quentin Halys in the second round.
Seventh seed Jan-Lennard Struff got his campaign underway with an inspired comeback triumph against Alexander Shevchenko. The German trailed by a set and 3-0, but dug deep for a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win, setting up a second-round clash with Corentin Moutet.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Marin Cilic returned to winning ways on the ATP Tour on Monday with an opening-round triumph at the Belgrade Open.
The 36-year-old saved each of the two break points he faced in a clinical second set, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to a 7-6(2), 6-3 victory over Alexandre Muller. It was Cilic’s first tour-level win of 2024, outside of his run to the title in Hangzhou in September.
“I felt good, but when you haven’t played for a while it’s [important] to find that intensity,” said Cilic, the former No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings. “I needed to find that balance today, and it took me a while to get used to the conditions and the balls.
“After 30 minutes, I started to feel great on the court, hitting, moving, serving. From there until the end of the match was fantastic, I felt really nice on the court.”
After powering past Muller, the World No. 68, and snapping his four-match losing streak, Cilic will face fourth seed Jiri Lehecka in the second round.
[ATP APP]Elsewhere, Dusan Lajovic recorded his first tour-level win since reaching the quarter-finals in Umag in July. The 34-year-old, who has been recovering from an injury sustained at the Davis Cup, surged to a 6-0, 7-6(3) win to upset ninth seed Mariano Navone.
“I didn’t expect this kind of first set,” said Lajovic. “I didn’t think I was going to play until the end of the season. I’m not 100% yet, but I’m good enough to compete. I’m getting my groove back so I am happy to win the match.”
In the second round of his home tournament, the Serbian will take on Fabian Marozsan, who came from behind to defeat #NextGenATP star Shang Juncheng on Sunday.
In a battle of two qualifiers, Denis Shapovalov rallied to move past Marton Fucsovics 6-7(6), 7-5, 6-1. After levelling the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 2-2, the former World No. 10 has set up a second-round clash against fifth seed Nuno Borges.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]