'At times, I couldn’t have played better': With ATP Finals win, Jannik Sinner finished a No. 1 season worthy of the Big 3

Serving at 1-1 in the second set on Sunday in Turin, Taylor Fritz tried to catch up to a scorching crosscourt backhand return from his opponent, Jannik Sinner. Fritz was woefully late with his swing, and the ball caromed off his racquet and into the bottom of the net. Afterward, he stared down at the surface below him, as if he couldn’t believe how quickly the ball had skidded off the court and onto his strings.

Fritz would go on to lose 6-4, 6-4, and become the last of Sinner’s 2024 ATP victims. The American’s look of stunned disbelief was a pretty good summation of his defeat, as well as the Italian’s dominating season as a whole. When it mattered most, nobody could catch up to the 23-year-old supercharged pace, or match his nerveless precision.

This season, Sinner became just the third player other than Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal to finish as the year-end No. 1 since 2003 (Andy Murray and Carlos Alcaraz are the others). His two major titles, three Masters 1000 titles, 70-6 record, and first ATP Finals triumph made it a season that was very much worthy of the Big 3.

Read more: Jannik Sinner becomes first man to win 70 matches in a season since Andy Murray in 2016

Sinner began the year with a bang, by winning his first Slam title at the Australian Open. If anything, though, he finished it on an even steelier, more efficient note. He won 26 of his last 27 matches, and in his five wins in Turin he didn’t drop a set, or allow himself to be pushed past 6-4.

“It was a very high-level tournament from my side,” said Sinner, during a typically understated victory celebration. “At times, I couldn’t have played better.”

“I just tried to understand what works best for each opponent, and tried to make the best possible tennis I can.”

For the third time in the last two months, Sinner knew exactly what worked best against Fritz. He fired 14 aces, and was never broken. He hit 28 winners against just nine errors. He broke once in each set, the first time with a perfectly carved drop shot, the second time with a pair of deep returns that knocked Fritz backward. Sinner faced one break point all evening, which he quickly erased with an unreturnable, 125-mph serve.

Matches between these two typically consist of a lot of rapid-fire crosscourt rallies—forehand to forehand, or backhand to backhand, until one of the two takes control. This time, the quality of Sinner’s serve gave him an immediate edge in his service-game rallies, and he connected on just enough returns, at just the right moments, to earn his two breaks. Sinner will throw in a shank if a point goes long enough, but he’s better than anyone else right now at not letting the points extend. He can break them open from either wing, to either corner, at any time.

“What I was really impressed with today was how he served,” Fritz said of Sinner. “He served absolutely lights out. So many lines. He placed the serve great. He took a lot of risk on the second serve as well. I think that was probably one of his main game plans, to not let me attack his second serve.”

Along with finishing No 1 for the first time, is Sinner also raising the bar for men’s tennis? That’s something we’ve said about Alcaraz, and his nonpareil athleticism, over the past three seasons, but we’re starting to hear it said of Sinner, too.

After losing to him in the semifinals on Saturday, Casper Ruud was asked to compare Sinner and Djokovic.

“Jannik hits a faster ball than Novak; he doesn’t let you breathe,” Ruud said. “With Novak you can play rallies. Not going to say easier to play Novak because he’s the best in the history. At least with Novak you can play more rallies and not be terrified of Novak ripping, like, a bomb down the line or crosscourt or these things.”

With most players, more pace means less accuracy, and vice-versa. You sacrifice one for the other. But that hasn’t been the case with Sinner since he began his rise to No. 1 last fall. He blends go-for-broke ball-striking with clean, repeatable technique. Sinner does show occasional signs of being human; both times when he served for the set against Fritz, he rushed and made uncharacteristic errors. But he has an uncanny ability to put a mistake behind him, add even more pace to his next shot, correct whatever went wrong the first time, and fire a winner.

The only flaw in Sinner’s 2024 is his 0-3 record against Alcaraz. Their rivalry will likely ebb and flow for the next decade. For now, though, it’s Sinner who is setting the standard, and the year belongs to him. The torch has passed by the old generation, and it has found a new one to pick it up and run with it.