Monday 25 / November / 2024
New Delhi : Jannik Sinner has secured the ATP Year-End No.1, becoming the first Italian to achieve this milestone, following his semi-final victory at the Shanghai Masters.
On June 10, Sinner made history by becoming the first Italian, male or female, to reach World No. 1 in singles since the introduction of computerized rankings in 1973.
He has maintained this top position ever since and will continue to hold it through the end of the season.
"It's amazing. It's something you dream of when you are a kid, when you are young, just to reach the No. 1. Now having the year-end, it's also a different and special feeling," Sinner said. "It means so much to me, obviously. This is something I could not accomplish without all the people I have around -- the family and friends and also a big credit to my team," Sinner said as per quoted by ATP.
At 23, Sinner is the 19th player to finish the year as World No. 1 and is one of only four active players to do so, joining the ranks of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Carlos Alcaraz.
Sinner's season began with a victory at the Australian Open, setting the stage for a remarkable year. Despite a tough mid-season battle with Alcaraz for the year-end No. 1 position, Sinner eventually pulled ahead to claim the title.
He has won an ATP Tour-leading six titles this year, including his first Grand Slam victories at the Australian Open and the US Open. He is aiming for his seventh title of 2024 in the Shanghai Masters final on Sunday.
By winning in Melbourne and New York, Sinner became only the third man in the Open Era to win his first two Grand Slam titles in the same season, a feat last achieved by Guillermo Vilas in 1977.
Entering the season with momentum from reaching the championship match at the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals and leading Italy to Davis Cup victory, Sinner began 2024 ranked World No. 4. He made a remarkable comeback from two sets down against Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open final, becoming the second Italian man to win a Grand Slam in the Open Era, following Adriano Panatta's 1976 Roland Garros victory.
Sinner won his first 16 matches of the year, and his season record now stands at 64-6, matching his personal best wins total from last year when he set a record for the most wins by an Italian male player in a single season in the Open Era. He has added two more ATP Masters 1000 titles to his collection, winning in Miami and Cincinnati, and claimed victories at ATP 500 events in Rotterdam and Halle.
By winning the US Open, Sinner joined an elite group of players who have won both the Australian Open and the US Open on hard courts in the same season. The others are Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Mats Wilander.
Sinner has held the World No. 1 position for 17 weeks and is expected to continue adding to his total. He currently ranks 18th among the 29 players who have reached World No. 1 in terms of weeks at the top.
