Jannik Sinner, won the ATP Finals in Turin, closed a year where he was the absolute owner of tennis and pocketed more than 20 million dollars

In November 2019, on an indoor hard court in Milan, a Jannik Sinner With the face of a child he gave his first hit in professional tennis. At just 18 years old and after having entered the contest as a special guest of the organization, whoever was 95th in the ranking surprised by winning the Masters of the Next Gen. The world then began to talk about that right-handed, tall and thin young man, who had excelled in skiing when he was little and who had ended up choosing the racket over that winter sport. Many were encouraged to assure that he was destined to do great things. Time proved them right. And very quickly, because in just five years, the one born in San Candido became one of the best exponents of tennis and on Sunday, also on an indoor cement court in his country, he shouted champion in the ATP Finals in Turinbecame the first Italian to lift the “Masters” trophy and put the finishing touch to a historic season.

“It was an incredible year. Many victories, many titles. It couldn’t have been closed better. “I’m very happy,” Sinner acknowledged, after sweeping the American 6-4 with a double. Taylor Fritz in the final of the contest.

“This is a very special event, perhaps the most special of all. It was a very high level tournament on my part. At times, I couldn’t have played better, so I’m very happy. “This title means a lot to me,” he acknowledged.

What happened on the field Inalpi Arena It was another demonstration of how dominant Sinner’s tennis is today. Fritz, who sought to be the first American to win the contest since Pete Sampras In 1999, he played a great game, but was nowhere near victory. Because? Because his opponent was intractable, especially with his serve and with his forehand, and showed impressive conviction to increase the pressure mercilessly when he considered it necessary and emerge victorious from the few moments in which he found himself in trouble.

“I’m surprised with myself, this is not normal,” he had said before the final. That thought crossed the minds of everyone who enjoyed Sinner’s show in Turin, which will have a special chapter in the big books of tennis.

Jannik, 23, was the first player to win the tournament that closes each season without giving up a set since Ivan Lendl in 1986. He was the first born in the 2000s to lift that trophy and the first to do so in his country since Andy Murray in the 2016 edition that was played in London.

As undefeated champion, he took home the highest prize in the history of the men’s circuit, $4,881,500. An amount that is equivalent to just over a third of what it had accumulated in the rest of the year (about 12 million). But, curiously, he did not exceed the six million he pocketed a few weeks ago for winning, with three victories, the 6 Kings Slamthe million-dollar exhibition that took place in Riyadh, organized by the government of Saudi Arabia.

As overwhelming as his time in Turin was his 2024, in which he shone in the important events on the calendar and had a campaign for the ages.

Sinner -who will now go to Malaga for the Finals of the Davis Cupin which he will lead the team that will debut against Argentina and will seek to retain the crown – closed the year with 8 titles (he has 17 in his career) and 70 victories (only six losses), more than anyone else in 2024. The last time a player had achieved numbers of that caliber had been in 2016, when Murray added 9 trophies and 78 wins.

In addition to Turin, he was crowned in Australian Open and the US Open -matching an achievement Guillermo Vilasthe last one that had won its first two “majors” in the same season, in 1977-; the Masters 1000 de Miami, Cincinnati y Shanghai; and the ATP 500 of Rotterdam y Halle.

The celebration at the ATP Finals made him only the third player to win three major titles on hard courts in the same season. The other two to achieve it? Roger Federer y Novak Djokovic. The Swiss won Australia, Flushing Meadows and the Masters in 2004, 2006 and 2007. The Serbian achieved that triplet in 2015 and 2023.

His relentless performance on the courts was reflected in the ranking. On June 10, days after falling in the semis of Roland Garros ante Carlos Alcaraz (the only rival who was able to beat him more than once -3- in the year), he climbed to the first step of the ranking, a position that he did not abandon again and that he will maintain, at least, until the first Major 2025. He was the first to carry the Italian flag to the top.

The only stain this year was his double positive for clostebol in two anti-doping tests carried out in March. His acquittal after demonstrating that it was due to carelessness on the part of his team generated controversy and strong criticism (even from some of his colleagues) for considering the treatment his case received unfair. He managed to abstract himself from the scandal – still unfinished, after the World Anti-Doping Agency will appeal the ITIA decision (Tennis Integrity Agency) and ask for a suspension of at least one year – and focus on playing.

His records and numbers this year are astonishing, but they are not the driving force behind an unstoppable Jannik.

“I’m not interested in being the first in one thing or another, it’s just statistics,” he said. “This year there was no specific goal of winning a Grand Slam or being number one or whatever. The mentality with which we faced all of 2024 was to take what we could take, trying to raise my level at specific moments, and learn from the rest. I always try to improve as a player and understand what I can do better.”

With that competitive mind and that hunger to continue growing that seems insatiable – perhaps the main reasons for his enormous present – he stated: “There is still room for improvement, even if they are small details. The higher you play, the more details make a difference.”

And when he had to plan his next season, he didn’t want to rush.

“I will face it the same way as this, staying calm, having my connection with my team, taking it seriously but also relaxed, in both senses. It will be a year of many first times. But it doesn’t matter if it’s a Grand Slam or something else. You just have to be yourself as a player. Then we’ll see how it goes. I always say that tennis is unpredictable, you never know what can happen,” reflected Jannik Sinner, the first Italian “Maestro.” The record man on the circuit in 2024. The new emperor in world tennis.