Q3 In Review: Sinner, Djokovic, Popyrin lay markers
In a summer of transition from the clay courts of Europe to the hard courts of North America, the third quarter of the ATP Tour season was filled with new records and a wave of first-time champions.
Jannik Sinner’s dominance continued as he clinched his second Grand Slam title at the US Open, while the World No. 1 also won his third ATP Masters 1000 title at the Cincinnati Open. Novak Djokovic took a long-awaited first gold medal home at the Paris Olympics. In early August, Alexei Popyrin became a first-time ATP Masters 1000 winner by clinching the Montreal crown.
ATPTour.com reflects on the champions from the third quarter of 2024.
[ATP APP]Jannik Sinner: US Open and Cincinnati
The Australian Open champion and World No. 1 solidified his position atop the PIF ATP Rankings with wins at the US Open and the Cincinnati Open. Enjoying his best season on Tour, Sinner beat American Taylor Fritz in the final of the US Open to become the first Italian man to win the hard-court major. With the title in New York, he also became the youngest man to win both hard-court Grand Slam titles in a single season.
“So many big wins for me this season, starting off with Australia,” said Sinner after winning the US Open. “Playing so well there gave me confidence. The work never stops. I know I can still improve, as we saw today, a couple of things. But you have to be proud with what you have and the rest you have to work for it. I can’t wait for my continued process.”
Earlier in August, Sinner also won the Cincinnati Open, defeating home favourite Frances Tiafoe in the final. With the win, he became the only player to win two ATP Masters 1000 titles so far in 2024.
The Italian, who missed the Olympics due to tonsilitis, qualified for November’s Nitto ATP Finals when he reached the quarter-finals in Montreal. The 23-year-old has won a Tour-leading six titles this season, with his title runs coming at the Australian Open, in Rotterdam, Miami, Halle and Cincinnati, and at the US Open.
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/09/08/22/02/sinner-us-open-2024-trophy-shot.jpg” style=”width: 100%;” alt=”Jannik Sinner” />
Jannik Sinner lifts the US Open title. Photo Credit: Kena Bentacur/AFP via Getty Images
Novak Djokovic: Paris Olympics
Djokovic withdrew from the quarter-finals of Roland Garros due to a right knee injury and underwent surgery on a torn meniscus early in June. Two months later, he returned to Court Philippe-Chatrier and fulfilled his pursuit of a gold medal at the Paris Olympics, without dropping a set.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion beat Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, who took his first Olympic (silver) medal home, in the final. Djokovic became the first player to have won an Olympic singles gold, all four majors, and all nine Masters 1000 events. He also became the third man alongside Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal to complete the career Golden Slam.
“I don’t know what to say. I’m still in shock, honestly. I put my heart, my soul, my body, my family, my everything on the line to win Olympic gold at age 37. I finally did it,” he said.
<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/08/04/15/25/djokovic-olympics-match-point.jpg” style=”width: 100%;” alt=”Novak Djokovic celebrates the moment he clinches the gold medal at the Paris Olympics.” />
Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning gold at the Paris Olympics. Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images
Alexei Popyrin: Montreal
Popyrin’s breakthrough title run at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers in Montreal was one of the surprise title runs of the season so far. The Aussie upset five Top 20 players (including three Top 10 players) to win his first Masters 1000 title. He beat World No.13 Ben Shelton in the second round and saved three match points to upset No. 10 Grigor Dimitrov in the third round. He then defeated No. 6 Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-finals, No. 16 Sebastian Korda in the semi-finals, and No. 5 Andrey Rublev in the final.
Coming into the tournament as World No. 62, Popyrin jumped to a career-high No. 23 in the PIF ATP Rankings after the victory. With the win, he became the first Australian Masters 1000 winner since Lleyton Hewitt captured the Indian Wells crown in 2003.
“Not just me, but my family, my girlfriend, my team, everybody around me. They have sacrificed their whole lives for me and for me to win this for them is just amazing,” said Popyrin after the win.
Two weeks later, Popyrin sprung another upset by ousting defending champion Djokovic in the third round at the US Open. He became the first player to defeat Djokovic before the fourth round at the hard-court major since fellow Australian Hewitt achieved the feat in the third round in 2006.
Fils, Korda make ATP 500 breakthroughs
The #NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils clinched his second ATP Tour title at the Hamburg Open by defeating Alexander Zverev on his home turf. In a rematch of their 2023 semi-final, Fils avenged his loss to the German by saving 21 of 22 break points in the final. Fils made his Top 20 debut in the PIF ATP Rankings as a result of the win.
Sebastian Korda also won his second ATP Tour title at the Mubadala Citi DC Open. The American saved two match points against Thanasi Kokkinakis in the third round en route to the trophy. With the win, he became the second American since Andy Roddick in 2007 to win the title. Korda’s father Petr Korda won the tournament in 1992, making them the first father-son duo to win the same title in ATP Tour history.
Berrettini goes back-to-back in Gstaad and Kitzbuhel
The former World No. 6 Matteo Berrettini won the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad by beating Quentin Halys in the final. He also secured impressive wins against Stefanos Tsitsipas and Felix Auger-Aliassime en route to the title at the clay-court ATP 250.
The Italian carried his momentum into the following week to win his third tour-level title of the season, and 10th overall, at the Generali Open in Kitzbuhel. The 2021 Wimbledon finalist did not drop a set across the two weeks.
Other Q3 Champions…
Marcos Giron and Nuno Borges became first-time ATP Tour title winners with their wins in Newport and Bastad, respectively. Giron won his maiden crown at the Infosys Hall of Fame Open. The 30-year-old saved a championship point against fellow American #NextGenATP countryman Alex Michelsen in the final.
Borges claimed his first trophy at the Nordea Open. The Portuguese defeated Rafael Nadal in the final and only dropped one set on his way to the title.
Yoshihito Nishioka and Francisco Cerundolo won their first titles of the season. Nishioka clinched the Atlanta Open crown after notching a notable quarter-final victory over home favorite Tiafoe. Cerundolo won the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag to capture his third career title. The Argentine defeated top two seeds Rublev and Lorenzo Musetti in the semi-final and final, respectively.
Lorenzo Sonego won his fourth tour-level title at the Winston-Salem Open without dropping a set. The Italian beat Michelsen in the final, who is currently second in the PIF ATP Race to Jeddah.
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