The biggest surprises of the year on the ATP Tour | ATP Tour

The Best of 2024

The biggest surprises of the year on the ATP Tour

Nardi, Mensik, Machac, Fonseca and Monteiro, los protagonistas

December 02, 2024

The strength of men’s tennis means that there are often no guarantees on the ATP Tour.

The PIF ATP Rankings offer a tangible way to assess favoritism, but the 2024 season offered many momentous surprises: results that shook top stars, went against the odds or catapulted a young player’s name to global fame.

As part of our annual series of reviews, ATPTour.com counts down the five most unexpected surprises of the year. On Tuesday we will analyze the biggest surprises in the Grand Slams.

5) Madrid, R2, Monteiro v. a Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4
Not even a Top 10 opponent in spectacular form was enough to stop Thiago Monteiro from being in full swing at the Mutua Madrid Open.

After qualifying at the ATP Masters 1000 event, Monteiro surprised Stefanos Tsitsipas with a clinical and clean-hitting display. Tsitsipas entered the first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting between the two with a 10-1 record on the year on clay after winning Monte Carlo and reaching the final in Barcelona, ​​but the Greek could not prevent an inspired Monteiro from achieving his fourth victory against a player of the Top 10.

The Brazilian’s triumph against the No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings was further in contrast to the fact that just a week earlier he had lost in the first round at an ATP Challenger Tour event to then-world No. 255 Jaime Faria. Monteiro’s upset was ultimately a demonstration of how quickly fortunes can change in tennis.

“Every week you have a new opportunity,” said Monteiro, who reached the third round in Madrid before reaching the fourth round in Rome, also from qualifying. “These last few weeks I didn’t feel very good on the court. I was trying to do well in Challengers, but it didn’t work out. I just kept working hard, day by day. Even when I wasn’t feeling good and wasn’t winning games, I kept believing in myself, and this week it paid off.”

4) Río de Janiero, R1, Fonseca v. to Fils 6-0, 6-4
How to capture the immediate attention of local fans? João Fonseca has the answer.

Competing as a guest and ranked number 655 at the Rio Open presented by Claro, the 17-year-old defeated seventh seed Arthur Fils in just his second tour-level match. Fonseca, who became the first player born in 2006 to win an ATP Tour match with his emphatic victory in his hometown, fell to his knees and put his hands on his head after securing the victory.

“I am very happy. It couldn’t be better than this, getting my first victory 10 minutes from my house and with all my friends, all my family watching,” said the Brazilian, who beat Cristian Garín in his next match before losing to Mariano Navone in the quarterfinals. at the end. “It’s very special… I was focused on making each ball. Obviously, I was nervous, I was shaking, but I wanted to win so much, I did it.”

The quality of the opponent Fonseca had defeated became clear throughout the remainder of 2024, as Fils lifted ATP 500 crowns in Hamburg and Tokyo and rose to a career-high No. 20 in the PIF ATP Rankings. The pair could even meet again before the end of 2024, with Fonseca (now ranked No. 145, a career-high) joining Fils in the lineup for the upcoming Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF.

3) Shanghai, CF, Machac v. to Alcaraz 7-6(5), 7-5
Carlos Alcaraz was on a 12-match streak at the end of the season after finishing undefeated in the group stages of the Davis Cup finals, the Laver Cup and most of the 2024 Asian tour. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings he ran into Tomas Machac at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.

The 24-year-old Czech had enjoyed an impressive season up to that point. He reached his first ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal in March in Miami, beat Novak Djokovic en route to his first ATP Tour final in May in Geneva and had returned to his best ranking (No. 33) before Shanghai. However, the way he destroyed an Alcaraz in a state of grace in the Chinese Masters 1000 was something to see.

Machac hit 20 winners on the Spaniard in the first set and then kept his cool to seal the victory. The Czech, who became the fourth lowest-ranked semi-finalist in the history of the Shanghai tournament, had provided another reminder of his potential to continue advancing towards the top of the game.

“I knew that the level of my tennis would be excellent because I am playing better right now, without a doubt,” Machac said. “I beat Tommy Paul [en mi] last game with an incredible performance. With this type of players, I have to play at this level, otherwise it’s 6-2, 6-3 [y] You go home, there is no other option. “I’m happy I managed to play like that for two sets.”

2) Doha, CF, Mensik v. and Rublev 6-4, 7-6(6)
Jakub Mensik’s emergence as one of the ATP Tour’s brightest talents has come gradually over the past 18 months. However, it was arguably his first top-five win, achieved in style against Andrey Rublev at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in February, that cemented his status as a bona fide star in the making.

Mensik, 18, defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and former world number one Andy Murray in Doha to reach his first quarter-final on the ATP Tour. His next opponent, Rublev, was the owner of an impressive record at the ATP 250: he reached the final there on his debut in 2018 before winning the trophy in 2020. Competing as world number 5 and the top seed, Rublev was without a doubt doubtless the favorite in his first Lexus ATP Head2Head clash with the #NextGenATP star.

As it was, Mensik had no problems showing his great game in one of the most important matches of his young career. The Czech saved all six break points he faced in the match, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to sealing a straight sets victory that guaranteed his promotion to the Top 100 of the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time.

“It’s been an incredible week from the beginning. I have played very well and I knew I could play with the greats,” said Mensik, who reached the final in Doha before losing to Karen Khachanov. “It’s an amazing feeling to get to the semi-finals after beating those good players.”

1) Indian Wells, R3, Nardi v. and Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
Luca Nardi may have felt he had already “won” simply by setting up a third-round clash with world No. 2 Novak Djokovic at the BNP Paribas Open. After losing in qualifying, the Italian earned a place in the main draw as a lucky loser, a status he immediately took advantage of by defeating Zhang Zhizhen to achieve his first victory against a Top 50, and then began preparing to face his idol from childhood, Djokovic, in the third round.

From there, things only got better for Nardi in Indian Wells. Competing as world No. 123, he shocked the tennis world by sinking the five-time tournament champion in a see-saw battle at Tennis Paradise. The 20-year-old outlasted Djokovic by 16 winners to two in the final set to snap Djokovic’s 11-match winning streak in Masters 1000 events.

Nardi was just the ninth player outside the Top 100 to defeat a Top 2 opponent since 2015. His surprising victory helped him catapult into the Top 100 for the first time after Indian Wells, while also making his name instantly known to fans. tennis fans from all over the world.

“I don’t think anyone knew me before tonight,” Nardi said after recording just his fifth win in a tour-level match. “I hope the crowd enjoyed the game. “I’m very happy with this one.”