Can Djokovic 'mess up' Sinner-Alcaraz duopoly?
Novak Djokovic has made a career out of upsetting the status quo. The 38-year-old is now targeting Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
Novak Djokovic has made a career out of upsetting the status quo. The 38-year-old is now targeting Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
The ATP has today announced a multi-year extension of its partnership with Haier, the world’s number one brand in major home appliances*. Haier will continue as the Official Home and Entertainment Partner and a Gold Partner of the ATP Tour through 2028.
The extension will see Haier continue to receive on-court brand visibility, premium hospitality experiences and on-site product integration at select ATP Tour events, providing a global platform to showcase its latest smart living innovations. The brand will also benefit from exposure across the ATP’s digital channels, reaching a global audience of more than one billion fans each season.
From 2026 to 2028, Haier’s tournament portfolio will include: the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag, ABN AMRO Open (Rotterdam), BMW Open by Bitpanda (Munich) and the prestigious season-ending Nitto ATP Finals in Turin – partnering with a total of 12 ATP Tour events overall.
The agreement was signed in the presence of Mr. Zhou Yunjie, Chairman of Haier Group, Neil Tunstall, CEO of Haier Europe, and Rodolphe Tastet, ATP Vice President, Partnerships.
Rodolphe Tastet, ATP Vice President, Partnerships said: “Extending our partnership with Haier shows the value and impact of our collaboration so far. Since joining forces in 2023, we’ve worked closely to showcase Haier’s premium technology to the ATP’s global audience. We’re proud to keep building on that momentum, reinforcing our shared commitment innovation and excellence”.
Neil Tunstall, CEO, Haier Europe said: “Extending our partnership with the ATP through 2028 is a natural step for Haier. Tennis embodies precision, performance and emotion—the same principles that guide our premium, connected home solutions. This renewal, including our presence at leading tournaments and the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, gives us a powerful stage to showcase innovations that make everyday living smarter and more sustainable, while elevating the fan experience on and off the court.”
ATP and Haier will celebrate the renewed partnership with a dedicated joint panel: “Play with the Number Ones: Sport Sponsorship Evolution” held at Haier Europe booth during IFA 2025 on Friday, 5th September.
The partnership extension forms part of Haier’s broader strategic engagement in tennis. In addition to its presence on the ATP Tour, Haier is also a sponsor of Roland Garros and the Australian Open, underlining its global footprint at the highest levels of the sport.
*Source: Euromonitor International Limited; Consumer Appliances 2025, % unit share, 2024 volume sales data
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There are many fantasy matchups fans would love to see between players from different generations. Who would not love to watch Bjorn Borg take on Pete Sampras, or Roger Federer play his idol and eventual coach Stefan Edberg?
The age gap between those two pairs — 15 years for both — is actually smaller than the 16 years that separate 22-year-old Carlos Alcaraz and 38-year-old Novak Djokovic, who will meet Friday in the US Open semi-finals. Alcaraz and Djokovic might not seem like conventional opponents on the biggest stages in sport, but over the past three years they have built an inter-generational rivalry that will be remembered for years to come.
There is not much precedent for such a rivalry in all of sport. Nearly 13 years separate Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, who became fierce opponents for F1 glory. Floyd Mayweather boxed Canelo Alvarez, 13 years his junior, but they were not both in the prime of their careers.
In tennis, Serena Williams is 16 years older than Naomi Osaka, but they only met four times, whereas Djokovic leads Alcaraz 5-3 in their series and they are adding a ninth chapter Friday.
Roger Federer recently played into his late 30s and made the 2021 Wimbledon quarter-finals aged 39. But the Swiss’ rivals were still Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, who were his contemporaries.
From the first chapter of the Djokovic-Alcaraz Lexus ATP Head2Head series at the 2022 Mutua Madrid Open through their meeting earlier this year at the Australian Open, the two stars have met for some of the biggest prizes in tennis, including two major finals, the Paris Olympics gold medal match and an ATP Masters 1000 final. Their quarter-final in Melbourne this season was their earliest meeting at any tournament.
It is largely being made possible by Djokovic’s longevity. The Serbian is seven years older now than his idol, Sampras, was when the American played his final match aged 31. Yet Djokovic is still competing deep into major tournaments. In 2025, he has made the last four at all the Slam tournaments. The man who commentated on the first Djokovic-Alcaraz clash, Nick Lester, is not surprised.
“I never forget Andre Agassi saying, when he worked in a very short period with Novak, that Djokovic as a 40-year-old will still probably be competing at the very highest level, because he has a body and a makeup that he had never seen before,” Lester said. “That stuck with me. When Andre speaks, I think most people listen. And here we are, not too far off that, maybe a couple of years away from it. So part of me is not surprised.
“But I think there is a small part of me that maybe is. Am I surprised that Novak at 38 is still in the mix with these guys? Probably not. Honestly, no. Clearly time is in the essence. He knows that. We all know that.”
When Djokovic and Alcaraz first met in Madrid more than three years ago, it was the Spaniard’s moment to step into the sun. Alcaraz beat Rafael Nadal and Djokovic in back-to-back days, taking a gruelling three hours and 36 minutes to upset the Serbian.
“Probably it’s one of the best days of my career, of my life, without doubts,” Alcaraz said.
Little did the tennis world know that four months later he would become the youngest No. 1 player in the history of the PIF ATP Rankings. Alcaraz then showed that he would be more than just a challenger for Djokovic when he beat the Serbian in back-to-back Wimbledon finals in 2023 and 2024.
It was not until last year’s Paris Olympics that Djokovic struck back, claiming the final trophy missing from his collection. Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have risen to the top of the sport, winning seven consecutive majors between them.
Suddenly Djokovic, who owns the record for weeks at No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings with 428, is the hunter rather than the hunted. Alcaraz plays dazzling all-court tennis that the 100-time tour-level titlist needs to rise to rather than the other way around.
But as Djokovic showed at this year’s Australian Open, he is hungry to do just that against his younger rivals. The 38-year-old could need to oust both Alcaraz and Sinner for the US Open title.
“Everybody is probably expecting and anticipating the final between [the] two of them,” Djokovic said. “I’m going to try to, you know, mess up the plans of most of the people.”
Djokovic might be 38, but he has not played like it. Only Sinner has defeated him in a completed match at a major this season, doing so twice. The 24-time major champion retired after a set in the Australian Open semi-finals to Alexander Zverev.
“I think he has been overtaken by two players that have possibly raised the bar again when we didn’t think that was necessarily possible,” Lester said of Sinner and Alcaraz. “But I think in terms of the age gap and the significance of the age gap, it is remarkable, undoubtedly. There’s a part of me that thinks that Novak is still driven as well now at this age by these two guys, and I think we saw that in his press conference afterwards.
“There was that little bit of an edge of ‘Don’t forget me’ still. And I know he’s done everything and I know he’s ticked every box in the sport largely. But I think these two guys now maybe are even giving him that last bit of fuel, possibly in the sport to get after it.”
Djokovic has another chance to show why he is still very much the present Friday inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
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Entering the US Open, Felix Auger-Aliassime was not in Nitto ATP Finals contention. But the Canadian has put himself in position to make a big splash in the battle for a coveted Nitto ATP Finals spot.
Despite beginning the season’s final major in 18th place in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, Auger-Aliassime has surged to 10th by reaching the semi-finals. The Canadian is now within 365 points of eighth-placed Lorenzo Musetti.
PIF ATP Live Race To Turin (entering US Open SF)
| Player | Points |
| 1) Carlos Alcaraz | 9,340 |
| 2) Jannik Sinner | 7,450 |
| 3) Novak Djokovic | 4,180 |
| 4) Alexander Zverev | 4,180 |
| 5) Ben Shelton | 3,710 |
| 6) Taylor Fritz | 3,465 |
| 7) Alex de Minaur | 3,145 |
| 8) Lorenzo Musetti | 3,070 |
| 9) Jack Draper | 2,990 |
| 10) Felix Auger-Aliassime | 2,705 |
The semi-finalists are the top three players in the Live Race — Carlios Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic — and Auger-Aliassime, who still has an opportunity to move into a qualifying spot while in New York.
If the 25-year-old wins his semi-final against Sinner, he will climb to seventh place (3,205 points). If Auger-Aliassime claims his maiden major trophy, he will rocket to fifth (3,905 points).
The Canadian qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time in 2022, falling in the round-robin stage. Of his seven ATP Tour titles, four have come after the US Open, so Auger-Aliassime still has time to make his mark in the Live Race.
Two of the eight players currently in a qualifying position — fifth-placed Ben Shelton and eighth-placed Lorenzo Musetti — are trying to make their debut in Turin. Ninth-placed Jack Draper is also pursuing his first appearance in the year-end championships.
Alcaraz and Sinner are the two singles players who have already qualified for the event, which will again be held at Inalpi Arena in Turin from 9-16 November.
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When JJ Tracy was going through the process of figuring out which university he would attend, the product of Ann Arbor, Michigan and Hilton Head, South Carolina visited Ohio State University. His host on the trip was Robert Cash, whom he had crossed paths with in the juniors but never played against or with.
“Usually because I wouldn’t make it that far in the tournaments,” Tracy said.
“No, he’s not giving himself credit,” Cash, from New Albany, Ohio, quickly added.
Both Americans laughed. Today, they are close friends and doubles partners on the ATP Tour who are into the semi-finals of the US Open, trying to become the only All-American men’s doubles team to claim the title this century besides twins Bob and Mike Bryan.
But the former Buckeyes’ bond truly began to form on that visit before they were teammates.
“I just realised how down to earth JJ was. It’s kind of rare in tennis,” Cash said. “I felt like we had a connection off the rip. We were very similar in a lot of ways. He was very cool, very funny, meshed with the team extremely well on his visit and then when he started school, he worked harder than everybody else and that’s what I really admired about him.
“He tried so hard on the court and was an unbelievable teammate, unbelievable friend. I just think that we get along so well off court and on court, and it helps us both ways.”
Cash’s longtime dream has been to go to medical school and eventually become a surgeon and his partner, Tracy, studied finance at Ohio State.
“Never really got to get a big head about any special finance major because we had a couple doctors on the team,” Tracy joked.
The pair’s professional journey nearly was over before it began. In the 2024 NCAA Doubles Championship, Cash and Tracy faced two match points in the semi-finals. Had they let slip one of those points, Cash would have fully focused on medical school applications and Cash would have put his energy into singles.
Instead, they won the tournament and earned a US Open wild card. They also were awarded a wild card into the Hall of Fame Open, reaching their first ATP Tour final there. The Americans made enough progress on the ATP Challenger Tour at the end of the season that they decided to forge forward together and Cash put his dream of becoming a surgeon on pause.
This year they won their first tour-level title in Los Cabos and with their semi-final run in New York are 11th in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings.
“It’s unbelievable. I was playing singles back then, but never in a million years would I go play a 15K or a Challenger in singles and trade it for this. I mean, this is unbelievable,” Tracy said. “It’s been super special to see us climb the ranks, from winning our first Challenger tournament to stringing a few of them together, making our first ATP appearance and Los Cabos, getting our first title.
“We were getting interviewed some in Los Cabos and I kept saying that our goal is to win one of every level of tournament. We’ve knocked out everything except 500, 1,000 and this, so this would be a good one to knock off.”
A clear reason behind the Americans’ success is how well they get along and work together. They don’t just merge together well in terms of their games, but also their personalities.
“He’s just really easy to be around. He’s always got a good attitude, great energy,” Cash said. “People feed off of him, and nothing really brings him down, so he’s always got a smile on his face, bringing people, putting smiles on people’s faces around him, and such an easy guy to be around.”
Tracy said: “[He is a] very good leader off the court, on the court. There’s been times in my life I was down, there are times I’m down, he’s always knocking on my door saying, ‘What’s the deal, dude? What’s good?’ He’s always trying to pick me back up. He led all through college as a teammate, as a friend.”
When Cash and Tracy advanced to the last four on Wednesday evening, countryman Ben Shelton posted his congratulations on Instagram Stories: “Hype for these boys”. They were all in college at the same time.
“I thought it was very nice of him, the college crew kind of sticks together. That guy absolutely is crushing it. He hit the ground running. He’s a super, super nice guy off court. Very humble, very grounded, and he’s been nothing but supportive and nice to JJ and I off the court,” Cash said. “He didn’t have to do that. He’s Top 10 in the world in singles. He doesn’t have to give us the time of day, but he’s such a nice guy off the court, and we’re really appreciative of that.”
The former college standouts know their job is not yet done. Cash and Tracy return to the court Thursday to face this year’s Roland Garros champions Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos for a place in the final.
“Our coach has been on us all the time about it off the court. He tells us to stay in the dirt. Stay in the dirt, just don’t go too far in the clouds, look too far in advance,” Cash said. “We’ve got to take it one step at a time. There’s still matches to be played, matches to be won. The job’s not finished, so we need to be happy, celebrate the win tonight. But we’ve got to focus and put all our energy and effort towards the match tomorrow.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Another month, more moments of magic on the ATP Tour. From Ben Shelton’s devastating pass in Cincinnati to Julian Cash’s epic scramble in Toronto, ATPTour.com has selected four candidates for August’s Hot Shot of the Month.
At the ATP Masters 1000 event in Toronto, Cash chased to the advertising boards to flick a winner, while Shelton brought the crowd to their feet in Cincinnati, where he fired a bullet pass.
Former No. 4 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Kei Nishikori ditched the double-hander to strike an improvised one-handed backhand winner in his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting against Camilo Ugo Carabelli in Cincinnati and Kamil Majchrzak ended August with a wild side spin drop shot in Winston-Salem.
Watch the hot shots below and then visit the voting page to cast your vote for your favourite before 12 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CET) on 9 September.
Watch the video and vote: