ATP Race to Turin after US Open: Jannik Sinner maintains top spot, big gains for Taylor Fritz as Novak Djokovic drops out of top 8
The ATP Race to Turin has heated up as the regular season of the ATP calendar nears its business end. The last Grand Slam of the year concluded with the 2024 US Open's end on September 8.
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner won the second Major title of his career, winning the US Open 2024 by defeating Taylor Fritz on Sunday. The Italian earned 2000 points for the title, which saw him maintain the top spot on the Race rankings with an overall tally of 9000 points.
Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz earned 400 and 50 points respectively from the US Open. While the German reached the quarter-final, losing to Fritz, the Spaniard unexpectedly lost to Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round. This caused the two players to swap their positions between second and third on the ATP Race rankings, with Zverev being the new No. 2.
Taylor Fritz was the other significant mover on the Race rankings. The American earned 1300 points by reaching the final at the US Open and broke into the top 8, to take the fifth position with an overall tally of 3890 points.
Fritz' entry in the top 8 meant that Novak Djokovic was pushed out and the Serb slipped to 9th on the Race rankings. The former World No.1 could only score 100 points at the US Open as he suffered a shock loss at the hands of Alexei Popyrin in the third round
The rest of the top 8 saw Daniil Medvedev earn 400 points in New York and hold on to his fourth position. Casper Ruud, Andrey Rublev, and Alex de Minaur got 200, 200, and 400 points respectively in New York to be in the 6th, 7th, and 8th positions on the ATP Race rankings.
Novak Djokovic in danger of not finishing in top 8 on the ATP Race Rankings since 2017
Novak Djokovic has not had the best of seasons in 2024. The Serb did win the Olympic gold, but that got him no points on the ranking charts. The former World No. 1 currently sits 9th on the Race rankings with 3260 points, only 45 points adrift from his nearest competitor Alex de Minaur, who is 8th with 3305 points. However, the Serb will face stiff competition from players below him, like Grigor Dimitrov and Tommy Paul who are 425 and 525 points away from the 24-time Major champion.
Djokovic has won the year-ending championships for a record seven times, the most recent one came last year when he defeated Jannik Sinner in the final. The Serb still has sufficient opportunity to make the top 8 easily as there are still two Masters 1000 events (Shanghai and Paris) left in the season.
Djokovic is a four-time champion in Shanghai, having won the title last in 2018, defeating Borna Coric in the final. At the Paris Masters in Bercy, the Serb has won seven titles, with his most recent win coming in 2023, when he defeated Grigor Dimitrov in the final.