Days before the grand finale of the ATP season in Turin, the Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner show had already begun. Although the two rivals are locked in battle to determine the year-end No 1 ranking, rumours swirled early on Friday morning that they were scheduled to train together. Sure enough, that afternoon they entered the stadium court side-by-side and they were greeted by deafening roars from a significant crowd.
The practice set that followed garnered as much attention as many matches this year. Thousands of viewers tuned in to watch the live stream, then highlights were swiftly available afterwards. The scores from practice sets usually do not leave the practice court, but on this occasion the tennis world quickly learned that Sinner had finished the day with a 6-3 win. They commemorated the moment with a selfie that instantly spread like wildfire across social media.
This is their tour now. Even when Alcaraz suffered a poor loss to Cameron Norrie in his opening match at the Paris Masters, the streak that has defined this yearâ€s ATP season endured with Sinnerâ€s subsequent victory: every time Alcaraz and Sinner have competed at a tournament this year, one of them has finished the week with the title. On most occasions, including in the last three grand slam tournaments, they have faced off in the final.
After years of anticipation and predictions about dominance, these performances are reflective of two special players who have already established themselves as all-time greats at such young ages. But this season has also reflected badly on the quality of the rest of the field. Before the ATP Finals, the most significant question is whether any player is seriously capable of stopping Alcaraz and Sinner.
As things stand, their prospects are bleak. According to the ATP rankings, Alexander Zverev is the third best player in the world. He also currently holds fewer than half as many ATP points as Alcaraz at No 2. Zverev remains one of the most successful players to have never won a grand slam tournament, but he has been outclassed by Sinner and Alcaraz in their most significant matches and the gap only appears to be growing. Since being completely overpowered by Sinner in the Australian Open, Zverevâ€s season has been unimpressive.
Considering he reached the semi-finals of all four grand slam tournaments this year, Novak Djokovic has shown that he is probably the third best player in the world. In theory, his chances of defeating Sinner and Alcaraz are greater over best of three sets and indoors than deep in the grand slam tournaments, but he competes in the Athens final on Saturday and he is yet to decide whether he will compete in Turin. The five matches in his legs over the past week would surely be even more damaging to his chances of success in Italy.
Novak Djokovic celebrates beating Yannick Hanfmann in the semi-finals of the Hellenic Championship in Greece. Photograph: Louiza Vradi/Reuters
There are more doubts across the field. Taylor Fritz has enjoyed an excellent year, embedding himself inside the top five. His mental strength, continued improvement and the well-rounded game he has built behind his enormous serve is admirable but it is hard not see him as a player who is eking out all of his potential, rather than a competitor with enough room for improvement to bridge the gap to the top two.
In his first ATP Finals, Ben Shelton is the youngest of the six challengers and perhaps the most interesting addition. On one hand, with his nuclear serve, all-court aggression and athleticism, he has enormous potential. But there are also gaps in his game, particularly his backhand and return of serve, that Sinner and Alcaraz have exploited with ease.
Alex de Minaur has admirably reached the ATP Finals for a second time in his career but his game is underpowered against the very best. The final spot in the draw will be decided on Saturday. Should Lorenzo Musetti defeat Djokovic to win the Athens ATP 250 event, he would leapfrog the in-form Félix Auger-Aliassime in the ATP race to become the final automatic qualifier.
Just as notable as the competitors in Turin are the absences. The dramatic struggles of Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev, three perennial top-10 players not very long ago, have not helped. The serious injuries to Jack Draper, in the middle of a monumental season, and Arthur Fils, the immensely talented 21-year-old who seemed to be in the midst of a breakthrough year, have weakened the chasing pack. Nobody else has come close to stepping up.
For anyone other than Sinner and Alcaraz, the prospect of winning this yearâ€s ATP Finals seems very remote. Still, in a tournament featuring the best players in the world, with the pressure firmly on the shoulders of the two favourites, every match is an opportunity for the challenger to show what they are capable of. The next few days will show who, if anyone at all, is ready to step up.
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