Jannik Sinner posting win-loss numbers like Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic; but a possible doping ban can bin them all into irrelevance | Tennis News
Late on Sunday, Jannik Sinner put the finishing touches to what has been the most dominant season in men’s tennis in nearly a decade. He did so with the noose of a doping ban hanging around his neck.The Italian defeated Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-4 to claim the ATP Finals trophy for his eighth title of the season. That Sinner has displayed consency in his dominance of the men’s tour is a feat of remarkable mental resilience given the fact that he’s been fighting a doping suspension in the background for much of 2024.
In August, it was revealed that the 23-year-old World No. 1 had tested positive for clostebol, a banned steroid, in March and had successfully appealed his case claiming accidental contamination. The case, while raising eyebrows in some corners of the locker room and among the tennis cognoscenti, seemed closed; Sinner went about his business, winning his second Major at the US Open.
Players to win Australian Open, US Open and #NittoATPFinals in the same year:
Roger Federer 🏆Novak Djokovic 🏆Jannik Sinner 🆕
End of l. pic.twitter.com/4MauBkis3C
— Tennis TV (@TennV) November 17, 2024
But last month, the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) appealed to the Court for Arbitration of Sport (CAS) and the Italian could still face a ban, with a hearing likely to be heard early next year.
Watch Sinner play his final on Sunday, with his fluid, commanding baseline play and calm demeanour, and there will be no indication that this is a young champion in the midst of a reputation-harming scandal. It’s how he’s got things done all year, putting together the greatest breakthrough season in men’s tennis since Novak Djokovic in 2011 (the Serb had the same year win-loss record, 70-6, as Sinner has in 2024 after Sunday’s victory).
Fritz, the big-serving American, plucky and on the rise, did not do much more than he did when the two played in the group stages earlier this week, or in the US Open final earlier this year. He was allowed to reger his presence, and nothing more. Sinner rolled him over in straight sets to win his 10th consecutive set to become the first player since Ivan Lendl in 1986 to win the year-end Finals without dropping a set. A spate of other achievements tumbled too.
Sinner became the first Italian to win the ATP Finals, with the privilege of doing it in front of a boerous home crowd in Turin, the same audience he endeared himself to when he reached the final there last year. He became the third man (after Roger Federer and Djokovic) to win the three biggest hard-court titles — Australian Open, US Open and ATP Finals — in the same calendar year.
His year win-loss percentage has soared to 92.1%, with an opportunity to inflate those numbers when he defends the Davis Cup title with Italy later this week. He has lost just thrice on hard courts in 2024, twice to Carlos Alcaraz and once to Andrey Rublev, where he has a win-loss record of 50-3 (94.33%). His metronomic success this year is reminiscent of Federer’s dominance in the early noughties.
In a three-year period between 2004 and 2006, Federer had been virtually unbeatable, with yearly win-loss percentages staying above 90 and peaking, in 2006, to an eye watering 94.84%. That was only matched on a few occasions, his great rivals. Djokovic did it twice, in 2011 (92.1%) and 2015 (93.18%). Nadal did it once in 2013 (91.46%). Add Jannik Sinner to that l.
The purpose of extracting these convoluted numbers is to highlight the fact that Sinner’s dominance in 2024 is very much on par with the vaunted ‘Big Three’; with eight titles including two Slams and success across surfaces, this is among the best overall seasons of the century.
Key to Sinner’s success has been his destructive ball striking ability — it allows him to be consent from the baseline despite taking attacking positions. But he has all-round attributes too, including a solid serve, tour-leading return numbers, and the variety of slices and drop shots to boot.
With a golden year already under his belt, his eye is already on preparation for next year.
“I always try to improve as a player and try to understand what I can do better. This week was something where I always felt the ball very good. Even in practice sessions, it was very smooth. The connection with the crowd was very nice.,” Sinner was quoted as saying The Times after his triumph on Sunday. “Let’s see what’s coming next year. The future, nobody can predict.”
The Italian has laid down the marker, for a resurgent Djokovic or Alcaraz, he is the man to catch. But nobody can predict the future, it may hold a doping ban too.
