Jannik Sinner: The Tour’s fearless frontrunner in 2024
Jannik Sinner: The Tour’s fearless frontrunner in 2024
Jannik Sinner: The Tour’s fearless frontrunner in 2024
#NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils extended his winning streak to 11 matches at ATP 500 events on Monday at the Swiss Indoors Basel, where he defeated German Daniel Altmaier 7-6(5), 6-3.
Fils has been in red-hot form at ATP 500 tournaments recently, triumphing on clay in Hamburg before lifting the trophy on hard in Tokyo.
Aiming for another deep run this week, the 20-year-old saved two set points in the first set against Altmaier before he rallied from a break down in the second set to reach the second round in one hour and 40 minutes.
Fils, currently first in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah and set to qualify for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, will next play Jiri Lehecka or Pedro Martinez.
MAGNIFIQUE FILS 💫#SwissIndoorsBasel | @ArthurFils1 pic.twitter.com/ROdQDXN6JP
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 21, 2024
Top seed Andrey Rublev breezed through his Basel debut, dismissing Portugal’s Nuno Borges 6-3, 6-2 as he strengthened his place inside the Top 8 of the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin.
Seeking a fifth consecutive appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals, the 27-year-old became the fourth player to reach 30 hard-court wins on the year (30-13) as he picked up his 41st win overall on the season. He next will play the winner of Croatian Marin Cilic and Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo.
Rublev won 25 of 26 first-serve points and saved the lone break point he faced. The 16-time ATP Tour champion is currently eighth in the Live Race and moved 315 points clear of ninth-placed Australian Alex de Minaur with today’s win. De Minaur is yet to play his opening-round match in Vienna.
“I practised for less than two days, which sometimes is not enough, especially for the first time here,” Rublev said. “I was a bit nervous and didn’t know what to expect. But now I have a day off to rest and enjoy some time.”
Earlier, lucky loser David Goffin continued his impressive recent form by moving past Italian Matteo Arnaldi 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2.
The Belgian defeated Lorenzo Musetti and Alexander Zverev en route to the quarter-finals at the Rolex Shanghai Masters earlier this month and set the wheels in motion for another run this week by overcoming Arnaldi in two hours and 31 minutes.
The No. 54 player in the PIF ATP Rankings will play fifth seed Ugo Humbert in the second round.
The Frenchman Humbert clawed past Swiss qualifier Jerome Kym 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-5 in two hours and 33 minutes. Humbert fired 13 aces and saved the one break point he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats to clinch a personal-best 34th win of the season. Humbert has enjoyed an impressive year, winning titles in Marseille and Dubai.
Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard also advanced, beating James Duckworth 7-6(4), 6-3. The 21-year-old will next meet Felix Auger-Aliassime or Sebastian Baez.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Matteo Berrettini bounced back from a disappointing early exit in Stockholm by producing a dominant performance at the Erste Bank Open on Monday when he moved past Marton Fucsovics 7-5, 6-4 in Vienna.
The Italian, who fell to Dominic Stricker in the second round in Stockholm, did not face a break point against Fucsovics, winning 86 per cent (32/37) of his first-serve points according to Infosys ATP Stats to advance to the second round after one hour and 48 minutes.
Berrettini, a three-time tour-level titlist in 2024, is making his third appearance at the ATP 500. The No. 41 player in the PIF ATP Rankings reached the semi-finals in 2019 and the quarter-finals in 2021. Aiming for another deep run at the indoor hard tournament, Berrettini will next meet fifth seed Frances Tiafoe or Cameron Norrie.
[ATP APP]Earlier, Flavio Cobolli improved to 21-5 in opening-round matches in 2024 with a 7-6(1), 6-3 victory against Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Cobolli saved all three break points he faced and struck 20 winners to advance after one hour and 36 minutes. The 22-year-old Italian leads Davidovich Fokina 2-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series and will next play second seed Alex de Minaur or German Jan-Lennard Struff.
De Minaur is ninth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, 265 points behind eighth-placed Andrey Rublev. De Minaur will be aiming for a deep run at the ATP 500 to boost his hopes of competing at the Nitto ATP Finals, held from 10-17 November.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka rises to number one in the WTA rankings, ending Iga Swiatek’s 11-month stay at the summit.
The PIF ATP Live Race To Turin intensified during a three-tournament week on the ATP Tour, where Tommy Paul, Roberto Bautista Agut and Karen Khachanov won titles in Stockholm, Antwerp and Almaty, respectively.
With three weeks to go until the Nitto ATP Finals, ATPTour.com looks at the movers of the week in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin as of Monday, 21 October.
[ATP APP]Tommy Paul – 10th (3,135 points)
The American has jumped one spot to 10th after he won his third tour-level title of the season in Stockholm, gaining 250 points in his quest to compete in Turin. Paul did not drop a set en route to the title at the hard-court event to close to 485 points on eighth-placed Andrey Rublev, who occupies the final qualification spot.
View PIF ATP Live Race To Turin
Alex de Minaur – Ninth (3,355 points)
De Minaur reached the quarter-finals in Antwerp, where he competed for the first time since the US Open in September. The Australian has struggled with a hip injury since Wimbledon but now fit again, will hope to make a last-minute push for Turin. The 25-year-old takes to court at the ATP 500 event in Vienna this week.
Grigor Dimitrov – 11th (3,100 points)
Despite dropping one place in the Live Race To Turin, Dimitrov has closed the points gap on eighth-placed Rublev. The Bulgarian advanced to the final in Stockholm, while Rublev fell in the quarter-finals at the same event. Dimitrov has fond memories at the Nitto ATP Finals, having lifted the trophy in 2017.
Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz have already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, scheduled to take place from 10-17 November.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Carlos Alcaraz said in September the tennis schedule will “kill us in some way” – but can anything be done in a calendar packed with big-money tournaments?
The PIF ATP Live Race To Turin continues to heat up with three weeks remaining for players to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals. With two ATP 500 events this week, the Swiss Indoors Basel and Erste Bank Open, contenders for the season finale have an opportunity to earn vital points.
Seventh-placed Casper Ruud and eighth-placed Andrey Rublev will both try to shore up their standing this week when they compete in Basel. Ruud is 225 points ahead of Rublev, who owns a 265-point edge over ninth-placed Alex de Minaur.
“When you’re in this position, you think about [the Nitto ATP Finals] quite a lot, of course,” Ruud said in Basel. “It’s a fun chase and it’s exciting… It’s good to have something to really motivate yourself with.”
PIF ATP Live Race To Turin (as of 20 October)
| Player | Points |
| 7) Casper Ruud | 3,845 |
| 8) Andrey Rublev | 3,620 |
| 9) Alex de Minaur | 3,355 |
| 10) Tommy Paul | 3,135 |
| 11) Grigor Dimitrov | 3,100 |
| 12) Stefanos Tsitsipas | 2,875 |
Ruud last qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals in 2022, when he advanced to the championship match (lost to Novak Djokovic). The Norwegian is in good position to earn his place in the season finale for the third time and can further improve his chances with a strong performance in Switzerland.
The 25-year-old is the second seed in Basel and will play Antwerp champion Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round. It is a difficult opening matchup for Ruud, who trails Bautista Agut 1-2 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
[ATP APP]Rublev is trying to qualify for the year-end championships for the fifth consecutive season. He is in the final qualifying position, but will be keen to make a deep run this week to build his advantage over the chasing pack, led by De Minaur.
The Australian has never qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, but could improve his chances of competing at Inalpi Arena by advancing through the Vienna draw. De Minaur will open his tournament against Jan-Lennard Struff.
Another player seeking his first Nitto ATP Finals qualification is 10th-placed Tommy Paul, who improved his standing by winning the Stockholm title. The American is 485 points behind Rublev for the final qualifying spot, making a deep run in Vienna critical. Paul faces a tricky challenge in the first round against countryman Brandon Nakashima.
Eleventh-placed Grigor Dimitrov, the Stockholm runner-up and 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion, is competing in Vienna. Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 2019 season finale winner, is in action in Basel.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Countries participating in the 2025 United Cup have been placed into their groups and assigned to host cities in Perth and Sydney following today’s draw in Sydney.
Perth
| A | C | E |
| USA | Greece | China |
| Canada | Kazakhstan | Germany |
| Combined #2 | Spain | Brazil |
Sydney
| B | D | F |
| Poland | Italy | Great Britain |
| Czechia | France | Australia |
| Norway | Switzerland | Combined #1 |
The schedule will be released Tuesday in Australia, when tickets for the group stage in Perth and Sydney go on sale at 5:00 p.m. local time in the respective cities.
Host nation Australia was drawn in Group F in Sydney alongside Great Britain, pitting Aussie No. 1 Alex De Minaur against his girlfriend Katie Boulter. Group F will also feature one of two teams to be announced in late November. Also in Sydney, Poland headlines Group B with Iga Swiatek and Hubert Hurkacz (pictured above). Italy headlines Group D with Jasmine Paoline and Flavio Cobolli.
Defending champion Germany, with Alexander Zverev and Laura Siegemund, head to Perth and will compete in Group E along with China and Brazil. The United States, with Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz, head Group A in Perth. Greece with Stefanos Tsitsipas and Maria Sakkari, lead Group C in Perth.
The celebration of Dominic Thiem’s storied career has begun at the Erste Bank Open.
The former No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings was honoured on a special ‘Super Sunday’ at the indoor hard-court ATP 500 in Vienna. After Thiem played an exhibition set against Alexander Zverev — the man he defeated to win his only major title at the 2020 US Open — a host of tennis and other sporting icons gathered to pay tribute to the retiring star.
“It was an incredible journey. You were the most important ones, opponents and friends and it was always a pleasure to be with you,” said Thiem after walking through a guard of honour that included his ATP Tour rivals Frances Tiafoe, Matteo Berrettini and Jack Draper, as well as his former coach Nicolas Massu and Germans Boris Becker, Tommy Haas and Matthias Bachinger. “It means so much to me that you were there today.”
Things we love to see 🤗#DankeDomi | @ErsteBankOpen pic.twitter.com/Rzvtm4RX51
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 20, 2024
Thiem is a huge star in Austria and has been a highly popular presence on the ATP Tour with fans and fellow players alike since he turned pro in 2011. He lifted 17 tour-level trophies before his career was disrupted by a serious wrist injury in 2021. Although he returned to competing in 2022, he was unable to rediscover his best form and announced in May that 2024 would be his final season on Tour.
Thiem still has one final ATP Tour event to play before he hangs up his racquet. The 31-year-old will take on Luciano Darderi in the first-round in Vienna, where he lifted the title in 2019.
“I couldn’t have imagined a better last Sunday in Vienna. I hope to see many of you again on Tuesday,” said Thiem to his home crowd. “It hurts incredibly that the journey is over, but it was a wonderful time.”
Former rivals of Thiem to pay tribute to the Austrian at the Wiener Stadthalle included Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who appeared in a pre-recorded tribute video. Thiem is one of only two players (alongside Andy Murray) to have earned at least five Lexus ATP Head2Head victories against each of the ‘Big Three’.
“You were always a super guy, also off the court,” said Federer in German. “Always fair. Your friendship was important on the Tour. We always got on well, and it was great for me. All the best with the future, and huge congratulations on your unbelievable career, Dominic. I am sure we will see each other soon, but for now, have a great evening.”
Djokovic said: “Thank you very much for all that you have given to all of us, but particularly tennis. I’m glad that you have the opportunity to say goodbye in Vienna. One last dance. I wish you a great tournament, with all your family members present, and celebrate it, because you deserve it my friend. All the best.”
Zverev earlier also made his own tribute on court.
“First and foremost, I’m losing a friend on the Tour, but of course we also played the greatest matches together. But it’s goodbye, not goodbye,” said the German, expressing what many Thiem fans are thinking: ”I hope he gets bored in a year or two and comes back to the Tour again.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
Top seed Alexander Zverev and Matteo Berrettini are among the stars headlining action on Monday at the Erste Bank Open.
Zverev will be aiming to reignite the form that drove him to success in the Austrian capital in 2021 when he gets his 2024 campaign underway against #NextGenATP wild card Joel Schwaerzler. Berrettini eyes a fourth ATP Tour title of the year and faces qualifier Marton Fucsovics in his opener.
View the full Monday order of play below to see who is competing, on which court, and when they are scheduled.
[ATP APP]ORDER OF PLAY – MONDAY, 21 OCTOBER 2024
Center Court – start at 2pm
Flavio Cobolli (ITA) vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ESP)
[Q] Marton Fucsovics vs Matteo Berrettini (ITA)
Not Before 6pm
[1] Alexander Zverev (GER) vs [WC] Joel Schwaerzler (AUT)
[8] Alexei Popyrin (AUS) vs [Q] Jakub Mensik (CZE)
#Glaubandich – start 2pm
Rafael Matos (BRA) / Marcelo Melo (BRA) vs Neal Skupski (GBR) / Michael Venus (NZL)
[1] Marcelo Arevalo (ESA) / Mate Pavic (CRO) vs Luciano Darderi (ITA) / Mariano Navone (ARG)
Sander Gille (BEL) / Joran Vliegen (BEL) vs [4] Nathaniel Lammons (USA) / Jackson Withrow (USA)