Sprint to the finish line

Just a few months to go until the season-ending championships! Who will earn the privilege of an extra week on the job?

Iga or Aryna?

If she stays healthy, World No.1 Iga Swiatek should extend her reign until the year wraps up. Her five crowns including the French Slam guarantee her WTA Finals berth, but will she lead the elite eight into Riyadh?

Source : WTA

That’s a trick question since Aryna Sabalenka, who’s been blazing through 2024 with three titles including two majors, trails Iga by only 400 points with three key tournaments (two WTA 1000 and one WTA 500) still on the calendar.

Among the new faces who could be in the mix in Saudi Arabia are Jasmine Paolini, Emma Navarro and Qinwen Zheng.

Sinner flying solo

Meanwhile in the ATP, the real race is between the no.2 and the no.3 since Jannik Sinner has a 3,000-point lead over his closest rivals. Separated by about 100 points, Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz head into Turin far ahead of no.4 Daniil Medvedev.

Also hotly contested is the no.8 spot. The GOAT currently sits at no.9 but could close the gap of less than 50 points between him and the current no.8 Alex de Minaur.

Photo : Tennis365

Surprisingly though, Djokovic isn’t putting too much pressure on himself to make that happen. Since winning Olympic gold in Paris—the only significant title that had eluded him—he’s recalibrated his priorities.

“Torino is not my goal at all, to be honest. I am not chasing ATP Finals, I am not chasing the rankings,” he told reporters after helping Serbia overtake Greece in the Davis Cup World Group I tie in Belgrade. “As far as I am concerned, I am done with those tournaments for my career. Whether I will play other tournaments this year or in the future, I can’t say right now.”

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Laver Cup: advantage Europe (again)

The seventh edition of the Laver Cup runs from September 20 to 22 at Uber Arena in Berlin, Germany.

A sign of the times, zero of the Big Three will be on the court or behind the bench, though Roger Federer should be in attendance as the event’s cofounder.

Photo : Laver Cup

This year, the teams get new captains as Yannick Noah and Andre Agassi take over from Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe.

The tournament has lost some of the newness of its pre-pandemic beginnings, but it remains one of my favourites. Exhibition tennis that’s serious and competitive.

As in every edition (except 2023), a glance at the teams reveals the chasm between them when it comes to the competitors’ ATP rankings. Team World vs. Team Europe is a timid David vs. Goliath.

Photo : Laver Cup

Europe World

Zverev (2) Fritz (7)

Alcaraz (3) Tiafoe (16)

Medvedev (5) Shelton (17)

Ruud (9) Tabilo (22)

Dimitrov (10) Cerundolo (31)

Tsitsipas (12) Kokkinakis (78)

When everyone on the blue team is a member of the Top 12 compared to only one guy on the reds, the odds are that the Laver Cup will find its way back to Europe for the fifth time.

Still, the Laver Cup’s unique format leaves room for a few surprises. In 2022, after four straight losses, Team World with the help of Félix Auger-Aliassime in the best year of his career, finally raised the Laver Cup.
And last year in Vancouver, the red team won by a landslide.

2017 Europe 15 World 9

2018 Europe 13 World 8

2019 Europe 13 World 11

2020 ------------

2021 Europe 14 World 1

2022 World 13 Europe 8

2023 World 13 Europe 2

So no Félix, no Roger, no Rafa and no Novak this year. Will David keep taunting Goliath, or will the old continent rise up once again?

Das werden wir in Berlin sehen!