Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will headline ATP Finals as Djokovic drops out

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are poised to add another dimension to their fast-developing rivalry when the ATP Finals open on Sunday without any members of the Big Three for the first time in almost a quarter of a century.

Top-ranked Sinner and third-ranked Alcaraz are equally tied for this year’s Grand Slam titles, with two each, and it would be fitting if the pair met again in Turin.

And since Alcaraz overtook Alexander Zverev in the rankings this week, the Spaniard can be placed in the same round-robin group with Sinner.

The draw for the eight-person tournament is scheduled for later Thursday.

At the end of the round-robin tournament, the top two players in each group advance to the semi-finals.

The remaining participants: Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, Alex de Minaur and Andrey Rublev.

The big name missing is defending champion Novak Djokovic, who withdrew on Tuesday due to an unspecified injury.

23 years since Djokovic, Federer and Nadal missed the final

Since 2001, the finals have not been held without the participation of at least one Djokovic, Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal. This season also marked the first time since 2002 that a member of the trio did not win at least one Grand Slam title.

Djokovic has won the ATP Finals seven times. Last year he beat Sinner for the title.

Federer, who announced his retirement in 2022, has won the tournament six times since his debut in 2002; Nadal, who retires after playing in the Davis Cup a week after the final, was twice runner-up in the final but never won it.

Sinner withdrew from the Masters in Paris last week due to the virus and arrived in Turin early this morning for training.

“This is the highlight of the end of the year for me,” Sinner said.

A final decision on Sinner’s doping case has not yet been made.

Being Italian, Sinner will be the center of attention in Turin.

Sinner will be playing at home for the first time since it was announced ahead of his US Open title that he tested positive in two separate drug tests earlier this year.

The decision to clear Sinner of wrongdoing was appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency in September, and the Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport is expected to make a final decision on the case early next year.

Alcaraz won all three official meetings with Sinner this year.

Sinner opened the year with victory at the Australian Open and became the first Italian to win a Grand Slam singles title in nearly half a century since Adriano Panatta lifted the French Open trophy in 1976.

Alcaraz then won titles at the French Open and Wimbledon, raising his career total to four Grand Slam titles.

Sinner responded with victory at the US Open.

Alcaraz has won all three official meetings with Sinner this year and holds a 6-4 advantage in career head-to-head competition. Last month, Sinner beat Alcaraz at the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia.

Zverev won in Paris last week and hopes for a third title in the final

The only two players in the field to win the final are Zverev and Medvedev.

Zverev won in London in 2018 and Turin in 2021; while Medvedev won in 2020, the last year the event was held in London.

Zverev comes out in good form having won the title at the Paris Masters.

Fritz is hoping for another major result after his first Grand Slam final at the US Open; Ruud is a 2022 finalist; De Minaur will make his tournament debut; and Rublev will perform for the fifth time in a row.

Biggest prize money on the men’s tour: $4.8 million.

If a player wins all five of his matches en route to the trophy, he will earn $4.8 million, the largest winner’s prize on the men’s tour.

That’s significantly more than Sinner and Alcaraz earned from their wins at the US Open ($3.6 million) and Wimbledon ($2.7 million or $3.45 million) this year.

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