Sinner, Djokovic and Popyrin set the tone for the final quarter on the tour | ATP Tour

History of the Season

Sinner, Djokovic and Popyrin set the tone for the final quarter on the tour

Check out the highlights of the last three months on the circuit

September 11, 2024

After a transitional summer that included a trip from the clay courts of Europe to the hard courts of North America, the third quarter of the ATP Tour season was filled with new records and a wave of debuting champions.

Jannik Sinner’s dominance continued as he claimed his second Grand Slam title at the US Open, while the World No. 1 also won his third ATP Masters 1000 title at the Cincinnati Open. Novak Djokovic took home his long-awaited first gold medal at the Paris Olympics. Earlier in August, Alexei Popyrin became a first-time ATP Masters 1000 winner by claiming the Montreal crown.

ATPTour.com looks back at the champions for the third quarter of 2024.

Jannik Sinner: US Open y Cincinnati
The Australian Open champion and World No. 1 solidified his position atop the PIF ATP Rankings with wins at the US Open and Cincinnati Open. Enjoying his best season on Tour, Sinner beat American Taylor Fritz in the US Open final to become the first Italian to win the hard-court Grand Slam. With the title in New York, he also became the youngest man to win both hard-court Grand Slam titles in a single season.

“I’ve had a lot of big wins this season, starting with Australia,” Sinner said after winning the US Open. “Playing so well there gave me confidence. The work never stops. I know I can still improve, as we saw today, in a couple of things. But you have to be proud of what you have and the rest you have to work to get it. I can’t wait for my process to continue.”

Earlier in August, Sinner also won the Cincinnati Open, defeating home favorite Frances Tiafoe in the final. With this victory, he became the only player to have won two ATP Masters 1000 titles so far in 2024.

The Italian, who missed the Olympics with tonsillitis, qualified for November’s Nitto ATP Finals when he reached the quarter-finals in Montreal. The 23-year-old has won six titles this season (the most by a player in a year) by prevailing at the Australian Open, in Rotterdam, Miami, Halle and Cincinnati, and at the US Open.

Jannik Sinner” style=”width: 100%;”>
_{^{Jannik Sinner wins the US Open. Photo: Kena Bentacur/AFP via Getty Images}}

Novak Djokovic: Paris Olympics
Djokovic withdrew from the Roland Garros quarter-finals with a right knee injury and underwent surgery for a torn meniscus in early June. Two months later, he returned to Court Philippe-Chatrier and fulfilled his goal of winning a gold medal at the Paris Olympics – and without dropping a set.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion defeated Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in the final, taking home his first Olympic medal (silver). Djokovic became the first player to win an Olympic singles gold, all four majors and all nine Masters 1000 events. He also became the third man alongside Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal to complete a career Golden Slam.

“I don’t know what to say. I’m still in shock, honestly. I put my heart, my soul, my body, my family, my everything on the line to win Olympic gold at 37 years old. I finally did it,” she said.

Novak Djokovic celebrates the moment he clinches the gold medal at the Paris Olympics.” style=”width: 100%;”>
_{^{Novak Djokovic celebrates in Paris. Photo: AFP/Getty Images}}

Alexei Popyrin: Montreal
Popyrin’s title run at the Omnium Banque National presented by Rogers in Montreal was one of the most surprising title races of the season so far. The Australian stunned five Top 20 players (including three Top 10 players) to win his first Masters 1000 title. He beat world No. 13 Ben Shelton in the second round and saved three match points to defeat No. 10 Grigor Dimitrov in the third round. Popyrin also beat No. 6 Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals, No. 16 Sebastian Korda in the semifinals and No. 5 Andrey Rublev in the final.

Popyrin came into the tournament ranked No. 62 in the world and rose to a career-high No. 23 in the PIF ATP Rankings following the victory. He also became the first Australian to win a Masters 1000 since Lleyton Hewitt claimed the Indian Wells crown in 2003.

“Not just me, but my family, my girlfriend, my team, everyone around me. They have sacrificed their whole lives for me and for me to win this for them is just incredible,” Popyrin said after the victory.

Two weeks later, Popyrin pulled off another upset by defeating defending champion Djokovic in the third round of the US Open. He became the first player to defeat Djokovic before the fourth round at the hard-court major since fellow Australian Hewitt achieved the feat in the third round in 2006.

Fils and Korda advance and shine at ATP 500 level
#NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils claimed his second ATP Tour title at the Hamburg Open by defeating Alexander Zverev on home court. In a rematch of their 2023 semi-final, Fils avenged his loss to the German by saving 21 of 22 break points in the final. Fils made his debut in the Top 20 of the PIF ATP Rankings as a result of the victory.

Sebastian Korda also won his second ATP Tour title at the Mubadala Citi DC Open. The American saved two match points against Thanasi Kokkinakis in the third round en route to the trophy. With the win, he became only the second American since Andy Roddick in 2007 to win the title. Korda’s father, Petr Korda, won the tournament in 1992, making them the first father-son pair to win the same title in ATP Tour history.

Berrettini wins back-to-back titles in Gstaad and Kitzbühel
Former world number 6 Matteo Berrettini won the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad by beating Quentin Halys in the final. He also recorded impressive wins against Stefanos Tsitsipas and Felix Auger-Aliassime on his way to the ATP 250 clay-court title.

The Italian maintained his momentum the following week to win his third tour-level title of the season, and 10th overall, at the Generali Open in Kitzbuhel. The 2021 Wimbledon finalist did not drop a set over the two weeks.

Other champions of the last quarter…
Marcos Giron and Nuno Borges became ATP Tour champions for the first time with victories in Newport and Bastad respectively. Giron won his first crown at the Infosys Hall of Fame Open. The 30-year-old saved a championship point against fellow American Alex Michelsen of the #NextGenATP in the final.

Borges claimed his first Nordea Open trophy. The Portuguese defeated Rafael Nadal in the final and dropped just one set on his way to the title.

Yoshihito Nishioka and Francisco Cerúndolo won their first titles of the season. Nishioka claimed the Atlanta Open crown after scoring a remarkable quarterfinal win over home favorite Tiafoe. Cerúndolo won the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag to capture his third career title. The Argentine defeated the top two seeds, Rublev and Lorenzo Musetti, in the semifinal and final, respectively.

Lorenzo Sonego won his fourth tour-level title at the Winston-Salem Open without dropping a set. The Italian beat Michelsen in the final, who is currently second in the PIF ATP Race to Jeddah.