The past 12 months on the men’s Tour has seen plenty of highs and lows for the world’s best players. Ubitennis takes an in-depth look at those who have managed to excel in the sport this year.
Best Players Of The Year
Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner won eight titles during his sensational 2024 season: 2 Grand Slams (Australian Open and the US Open), the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, three Masters 1000 (Indian Wells, Cincinnati, Shanghai) and two ATP 500 (Rotterdam and Halle). He capped his season with his second consecutive Davis Cup Trophy.
At the start of the 2024 season Sinner came back from two sets down to beat Danil Medvedev 3-6 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-3 in the final of the 2024 Australian Open claiming his first Grand Slam. Sinner beat Medvedev in five of his six head-to-head matches during the 2024 season, losing only once against his Russian rival in the quarter final at Wimbledon. After his win in the round-robin group stage at the ATP Finals in Turin Sinner now leads 8-7 in his career head-to-head series against Medvedev.
Sinner became the first Italian player to win the Nitto ATP Finals, where he beat Taylor Fritz in a re-make of the US Open Final clinching his 70th ATP Tour-level match win of the season in front of 12000 enthusiastic fans. The world number 1 player has joined Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as the only players in history to win the Australian Open, the US Open and the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin in the same season. He also became the first player born in 2000s to clinch the ATP Finals title. Nobody in history had won two Grand Slam titles, the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup in the same year.
Sinner lifted the ATP Finals Trophy without losing a set becoming the first player to win the title without losing a set since Ivan Lendl in 1986. The 23-year-old Italian player lost an average of just more than three games per set. He beat Alex De Minaur, Taylor Fritz, Danil Medvedev in the round robin, Casper Ruud in the semifinal and Taylor Fritz in the final.
Sinner scored a record of 73 wins to 6 defeats overall this season becoming the first player to win 70 matches or more since Andy Murray’s 78 wins in 2018.
“It means a lot to me. My family knows how much sacrifice I have put in to be in this position. I am very happy to share this win with the Turin crowd. It was a very nice moment. I actually believe there is still a gap of improvement. There are still certain shots and points that I can do better, but these are small details.”
Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz won Roland Garros and Wimbledon doubling his Grand Slam titles count following his triumphs at the 2022 US Open and 2023 Wimbledon. The Spanish star became just the sixth player to win the Roland Garros-Wimbledon double in the same year joining tennis legends Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. He also finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic at the Olympic Games in Paris; he claimed the fifth Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells and beat Jannik Sinner three times in the final of the ATP 500 in Beijing and in two semifinals at Indian Wells and at Roland Garros.
“It’s a huge honour for me to be part of those players who have achieved Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year. I am really glad to be in the same table as Novak. They are huge champions. I don’t consider myself a champion yet, not like them, but I will try to keep going.”
The rivalry of the year: Sinner vs Alcaraz
Although Jannik Sinner ended the season as the ATP Year-end number 1, Alcaraz reestablished his lead in the head-to-head matches against his Italian rival. Alcaraz improved to 6-4 against Sinner with three wins at Indian Wells semifinal (1-6 6-3 6-2), Roland Garros semifinal (2-6 6-3 3-6 6-4 6-3) and in the final of the China Open in Beijing (6-7 6-4 7-6).
The Roland Garros semifinal was one of the best matches of the season. Alcaraz rallied twice from a set down to clinch a come-back win after 4 hours and 10 minutes. Alcaraz became the youngest player to reach a Grand Slam on all-surfaces. In the first set Sinner went up a double break to take a 3-0 lead. Alcaraz got on the board by winning his first game in the fifth game before pulling one of the two breaks back at 2-4. Sinner closed out the first set 6-2 in 44 minutes when Alcaraz hit a drop-shot into the net.
Sinner earned an early break in the first game of the second set and consolidated it for 2-0.
Alcaraz pulled back on serve with a cross-court winner. The Spaniard opened up a 5-2 lead following another break as Sinner sent his forehand wide.
Sinner ended Alcaraz’s five-game winning streak, but Alcaraz converted his set point to win the second set 6-3.
Alcaraz broke serve in the third game of the third set with a backhand passing shot to take a 2-1 lead, but Sinner broke straight back to draw level to 2-2 and saved four break points in the fifth game before holding serve for 3-2. Sinner hit a backhand return to earn another break and sealed the third set as Alcaraz hit a forehand into the net. Neither player earned a single break point in the fourth game until Alcaraz earned a set point with a backhand. He converted it with a winner into the open court sending the match to the decider. Alcaraz earned the crucial break in the second game of the fifth game and sealed the win on his third match point as a final forehand from Sinner flew wide.
Four months later Alcaraz rallied from one set down to beat Sinner in three sets in the China Open final in Beijing. Sinner came back from 1-4 down to win the first set in the tie-break. Alcaraz saved two break points and came through the 14-minute game as he was trailing 3-4 in the second set. Alcaraz then won the next two games to clinch the second set forcing the match to the decider. Alcaraz broke serve to open up a 3-1 lead, but Sinner broke back to 3-3. Sinner, who had won 18 of his past 19 tie-breaks, went up a 3-0 lead in the tie-break, but Alcaraz reeled off the final seven points to win his fourth title of the season.
Carlos Alcaraz “It was one of the toughest matches I have ever played. The toughest I have played in my short career have been against Jannik. I hope to play many more like this. You have to find the joy in suffering.”
The most consistent player: Alexander Zverev
Alexander Zverev was the most prolific player in 2024. He played 90 matches of 23 tournaments. He won 69 matches setting a career-best. The German player started the season by winning the United Cup and reached semifinal at the Australian Open. He won the Rome Masters 1000 title for the second time in his career after dropping just one set during the whole tournament and reached the final at Roland Garros, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in five sets.
“I won my first ever Master 1000 tournament in Rome and my first after my injury also in Rome. This city is a very special place for me.”
Zverev claimed the seventh Masters 1000 title of his career in Paris Bercy beating Hugo Humbert in the championships match, lost to Arthur Fils in Hamburg final and reached the semifinal in Los Cabos, Miami, Halle, Cincinnati and at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, the quarter final in Indian Wells, Munich, at the US Open, Montreal, Vienna.
The most improved player: Taylor Fritz
US star Taylor Fritz made a great progress in 2024 reaching his first Grand Slam final at the US Open in New York and his first ATP Finals championships match in Turin. Fritz finished runner-up to Sinner in both finals. The Italian player beat his US rival by the same scoreline of 6-4 6-4 in both the round robin and the finalist Turin.
At the US Open he battled past his compatriot Frances Tiafoe 4-6 7-5 4-6 6-4 6-1 to become the first US player to reach a Grand Slam final since Andy Roddick in 2009. He also became the first American man to reach the US Open final since 2006, when Roddick lost to Roger Federer in four sets. In New York Fritz beat Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud achieving the first two top 10 wins in a Grand Slam tournament. He became the first US player since André Agassi to reach the fourth round at each of the Grand Slam tournaments in the same season.
Fritz earned wins against Danil Medvedev and Alex De Minaur in the round robin and Alex De Minaur in the semifinal to become the first US player to reach the Nitto ATP Finals title match since James Blake in 2006.
He won two ATP Tour titles in Delray Beach on hard-court and Eastbourne on grass and was consistent on all surfaces reaching the final in Munich, the semifinals in Madrid and the quarter final in Rome (clay), the quarter final at Wimbledon (grass) and the semifinal in Shanghai and the quarter final at the Australian Open (hard court).
Fritz ended the 2024 season at a career-high of world number 4 and won the Olympic bronze medal in Paris in the doubles tournament with Tommy Paul.
“I enjoyed a really good week in Turin. Obviously it’s a good way to end the year. It gives me a lot confidence finishing the season like this. Something I told my team in 2023 when I reached world number 5 for a week right before I was defending the Indian Wells title, was: ‘That’s crazy. I am number five in the world, look at all guys ranked behind me that are probably better than me. Back then I was number 5 , but I did not feel I was 5. Now I am ranked where I am at. I feel like I belong. It’s a different feeling. It’s been a great season. That gives me a lot of confidence to have that belief. That’s a huge part of having the big results. The goal I set for myself at the start of the year was to finish top 5.”
The best doubles team of the year: Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz
The all-German team Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz crowned their great season by winning their first Nitto ATP Finals title in Turin. Krawietz and Puetz beat year-end number 1 doubles team Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (8-6) to become the first German doubles team to win the ATP Finals title in the tournament’s 55-year-old history.
Krawietz and Puetz won their second doubles title of the 2024 season following their triumph in Hamburg. They also finished runner-up to Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson in the US Open final. The German team came back from a set and a break down in the semifinal of the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, saving a match point en route to beating Purcell and Thompson.
Kevin Krawietz: “I don’t know how to put into words. It’s an amazing achievement for us. I am very proud of us, we are proud of the whole team, everyone at home. To end the year here winning the title: it’s unbelievable.“
The rising stars of the season:
Arthur Fils
Frenchman Arthur Fils won his first ATP 500 title at the age of 20 beating Alexander Zverev in the final of the Hamburg Open in July 2024 achieving the second top 5 win of his career.
At last September’s ATP 500 in Tokyo Fils beat top seed Taylor Fritz, Matteo Berrettini, defending champion Ben Shelton and sixth seed Holger Rune before beating his compatriot Ugo Humbert in the final to claim his second ATP 500 title and his third career title overall. He achieved three of these four wins in the third set. Fils saved a championship point in the tie-break of the second set to prevail 5-7 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 in the final against Humbert.
“I don’t know how I turned around during the final against Humbert. I struggled with an injury for much of the second set. After 5-5 in the first set, I was feeling dead on the court. He was playing unbelievable shots. It was a very tight first set. I got a lot of break points and did not break. Humbert is a great champion and it was very tough.”
Fils became the youngest French player to record a main draw win at the ATP Masters 1000 in Paris Bercy since Richard Gasquet in 2006 when he beat Croatia’s Marin Cilic 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 to reach the second round.
Fils made a breakthrough in 2023 when he beat Francisco Cerundolo to win the ATP 250 title in Lyon, becoming the youngest French player at the age of 18 to win an ATP Tour since Gael Monfils in 2005.
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard
Giovanni Mpetchi Perricard won the first ATP Tour title of his career in his hometown Lyon as a wildcard after saving a match point against Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry two months before his 21st birthday. Mpetchi Perricard became the lowest-ranked player to win the title in tournament’s history.
“It means a lot. A lot of dedication, a lot of hard training, a lot of questions about my game. I am very happy to win in Lyon, my hometown.”
Mpetchi Perricard won his first ATP 500 title at the Swiss Open in Basel. He became the first Frenchman to win the Basel title since Yannick Noah in 1987. He earned five top 30 wins beating Felix Auger Aliassime 6-1 7-6 (8-6) in the Round of 16, Holger Rune 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 in the semifinal and Ben Shelton 6-4 7-6 (7-4) in the final en route to his title in the Swiss tournament. The young Frenchman reached a career-high of world number 31 on 28 October 2024.
“It’s amazing to win an ATP 500 tournament for the first time. I just can be happy with myself, with what I did today in Basel. It’s amazing to win here. It was a tough match today for me, but it’s always good when the victories are there”.
Mpetchi Perricard beat world number 14 Frances Tiafoe 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 before losing to Karen Khachanov 6-7 (12-14) 6-1 4-6 on his main draw debut at the Paris Bercy Masters 1000 tournament.
The breakthrough of the year
Jack Draper
British number 1 player Jack Draper won the first title of his career in Stuttgart on grass in his third final beating 2021 Wimbledon finalist and two-time Stuttgart champion Matteo Berrettini 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4. In the German tournament Draper became the eighth first-time ATP Tour champion in 2024.
At the next grass tournament one week later Draper earned the biggest win of his career by ranking when he beat defending champion Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 in straight sets in the second round at Queen’s Club in London.
Draper beat Alex De Minaur 6-3 7-5 6-2 to become the first British male player to reach the semifinals at the US Open since Andy Murray in 2012. The British player then lost to eventual champion Jannik Sinner in the semifinal.
During the indoor season Draper beat Tomas Machac in the quarter final, Olympic bronze medallist Lorenzo Musetti in the semifinal and Karen Khachanov in the final of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna to claim his first ATP 500 title. He made his debut in the top 15 on 28 October.
One week later Draper beat top 10 player Taylor Fritz before losing to ninth seed Alex De Minaur in three sets at the Paris Bercy Masters 1000 tournament.
During the 2024 season Draper also reached the Adelaide final in his first tournament of the year and advanced to the semifinal in Acapulco on his debut as a top 50 player. He ended the season with a record of 39 wins to 22 defeats.
Draper was born in the Borough of Sutton in South London. His father Roger Draper was a former chief executive of Sport England and the Lawn Tennis Association. His mother Nicky Draper was a former junior British tennis champion.
“I have had a lot of tough moments but I have always tried to stay strong. I think it shows my love for tennis and the amazing people I have around me to push me to keep on persevering and keep strong.”
A name to follow for the future
Joao Fonseca
Brazilian rising star Joao Fonseca rallied from one set down to beat Learner Tien 2-4 4-3 (10-8) 4-0 4-2 in the championships match at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah. Fonseca finished the tournament unbeaten becoming the second youngest champion in the history of the Next Gen Finals.
Fonseca and Tien met for the third time in their career on the tennis court. The Brazilian player beat his US opponent in the US Open final in 2023 and in the round-robin match at this year’s Next Gen ATP Finals earlier this week.
Fonseca has followed in the footsteps of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who won the past editions of the Next Gen Finals. Former world number 1 Rafael Nadal was watching from the stands.
“I was really nervous before the match. I knew it was going to be difficult. I played a final against Learner as a junior at the 2023 US Open. I know the way he can play. He is such nice guy and a great player, so I knew it was going to be difficult, mentally and physically, but I got my way through”.
Fonseca started the season at world number 727 and reached a career-high number 145. He reached the quarter finals at the the ATP 500 tournament in Rio de Janeiro at the age of 17 after beating Arthur Fils in the Round of 32 and Christian Garin in the Round of 16. In the home tournament Fonseca became the second youngest ATP 500 quarter finalist since the series began in 2009 and the first since Alexander Zverev reached the last eight in Hamburg in 2014. He also became the first player born in 2006 to win an ATP Tour match.
“I am living a dream and I have not realized yet what I have achieved. I want to keep dreaming. I am really happy with my path until now.“
During the European clay season Fonseca beat Cameron Norrie and Alex Michelsen at the Madrid Mutua Open last May.
Fonseca also advanced to the quarter final Bucharest and won the ATP Challenger in Lexington. He became the youngest Challenger champion of the 2024 season at the age of 17.
Last September Fonseca pushed Matteo Berrettini to the tie-break of the second set and beat Botic Van de Zandschulp in the Davis Cup Group stage in Bologna.
Fonseca was born in Ipanema to parents Roberta and Christiano Fonseca. His father is CEO and was co-founder of IP Capital Partners, the first independent fund in Brazil. Joao started playing tennis at the age of 4 at the Rio de Janeiro Country Club.
The best matches of the year
Paris Olympic Final: Djokovic beats Alcaraz 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2)
Novak Djokovic beat Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2) on Court Phillippe Chatrier in a thrilling Olympic final in Paris to win the first Olympic gold medal at his fifth appearance at this event just eight weeks after undergoing knee surgery. Djokovic became just the fifth player to win the Career Golden Slam (all four Grand Slams and the Olympic gold medal) after Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, André Agassi and Steffi Graf.
Djokovic avenged his defeat against Alcaraz, who had beaten his Serbian rival in three sets in the Wimbledon final three weeks earlier.
The Paris final featured 13 break points in the 92 minute-first set (five for Djokovic and eight for Alcaraz) but neither player managed to break serve. The set was decided by a tie-break. Alcaraz rallied from 0-40 down to hold in the fourth game. Djokovic saved five break points in a 18-point ninth game. Djokovic’s final break point of the set doubled as a set point at 5-5 30-40. Djokovic won four consecutive points from 3-3 to win the tie-break. Alcaraz saved the only break point in the third game of the second set. Djokovic hit a cross-court forehand winner at 2-2 in the tie-break of the second set and reeled off the next four points to seal the win.
Novak Djokovic: “What I felt in that moment when I won surpassed everything I thought or hoped that it would. Being on that court with the Serbian flag, singing the Serbian anthem with the gold around my neck, I think nothing can beat that in terms of professional sport. It definitely stands out as the biggest achievement I had.”
Comeback of the year: Matteo Berrettini
Matteo Berrettini missed the final months of the 2023 season and more than two months of the 2024 season after sustaining a serious ankle injury in the second round of the 2023 US Open against Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech. Under the guidance of his new coach Francisco Roig Berrettini won the ATP title in the third tournament of his come-back and his first on clay in Marrakesh after winning matches against his compatriot Lorenzo Sonego and clay specialist Roberto Carballes Baena.
At the Stuttgart Open on grass Berrettini beat Denis Shapovalov and Lorenzo Musetti before finishing runner-up to Jack Draper in the final.
During the summer clay season Berrettini won two back-to-back titles in Gstaad and Kitzbuhel. Berrettini, Wimbledon finalist in 2021, beat Frenchman Quentin Halys 6-3 6-1 after 59 minutes in the championships match in Gstaad.
“It feels unbelievable. It feels like it was yesterday that I won my first title here six years ago, but a lot of matches and a lot of things happened. I am just so glad that I can keep playing and enjoying, and I think I found the energy of six years ago. Gstaad is special for me.”
Team Of The Year: Italy
Italy won the Davis Cup trophy for the second straight year in Malaga becoming the first country to successfully defend their title since Czechia won back-to-back in 2012 and 2013. The Davis Cup triumph came just four days after Italy won the women’s Billie Jean King Cup in the same venue. Italy is the fifth country in history to win the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup in the same year.
Sinner crowned a dream season by winning all four matches he played in the Davis Cup Finals week. He finished the season with a win-loss record of 73-6. He beat Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 to clinch the third title for Italy in the history of the Davis Cup following the triumphs in 1976 and 2023.
Matteo Berrettini flew to Malaga last year but he did not play because he was recovering from an ankle injury. He watched his teammates win the Davis Cup from the sideline. This year Berrettini won his singles matches against Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis in the semifinal and Dutchman Botic Van de Zandschulp in the final. Berrettini and Sinner teamed up to clinch the decisive doubles match in the quarter final against Argentine.
Matteo Berrettini: “It feels unbelievable. Last year was really nice to be here, but at the same time I remember a moment, like, ‘why did I come ? I was not part of the same 100%, but I am competitive and I want to be part of the team’, but at the end of the day, I said it was really important for me to come because I support them, because I was really happy for them, but also for me. I once again realized how much I care about Davis Cup. Living those moments I took all this energy. Next year I am going to be here. I am going to be fighting for Italy.”
The Davis Cup title was the crowning moment for Italy at the end of a very successful season, which was also highlighted by Lorenzo Musetti’s bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Paris. Musetti beat two top 10 players Taylor Fritz in the Round of 16 and Alexander Zverev in the quarter final. Musetti has become the first Italian player in 100 years to win a medal in tennis at the Olympic Games with a 6-4 1-6 6-3 win over Canada’s Felix Auger Aliassime following in the footsteps of Uberto de Morpurgo, who also won the bronze medal in Paris in 1924. Italian players won a total of 13 ATP Tour titles this year and nine players finished the year in the top 100.
