"Novak Djokovic is the last time we saw a season like this" - Jannik Sinner looking "unbeatable" in 2024 earns appreciation from Laura Robson
British former WTA star Laura Robson hailed Jannik Sinner's consistency following the Italian's title triumph at the recently concluded 2024 Nitto ATP Finals. Sinner did not lose a single set on his way to the prestigious year-end title in Turin, sweeping aside Taylor Fritz in the final 6-4, 6-4.
Jannik Sinner played a total of 76 matches in the 2024 season and won an astonishingly high 70 of them. His remarkable tally of wins throughout the year yielded eight titles. He won two Majors, the Australian Open and the US Open, three Masters 1000 titles, the Miami Open, the Cincinnati Open, and the Shanghai Masters, two ATP 500-level events, the Rotterdam Open and the Halle Open, and capped off his season with the Nitto ATP Finals.
Following Sinner's title triumph in Turin, Laura Robson, a former WTA World No. 27, compared the Italian's year to the stellar season enjoyed by Novak Djokovic in 2015. Djokovic finished 2015 with an 82-6 win-loss record on the ATP Tour, winning three Majors, six Masters 1000s, and the year-end finals as well.
Robson said (via Sky Sports Tennis),
"I mean, it's almost unheard of. I don't know, well, probably Djokovic a few years ago is the last time we saw a kind of season like this put together, where you just look unbeatable out there, where players feel lost against you, where they feel like they've got to overplay and they get so few chances throughout a match because it's so impressive how he doesn't have the dips."
Robson went on to highlight how Carlos Alcaraz, widely considered the player who will dominate men's tennis along with Sinner in the years ahead, still has his inconsistent phases, whereas the Italian was more solid this season.
"When you think of Alcaraz and how much he can up-and-down throughout a match, and that's part of his charm in a way, the fact that he still loses his concentration. We haven't really seen that from Sinner this year."
At a press conference after the conclusion of the final of the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals, Sinner said that he was hoping to improve his game even further and look at the finer details.
"The higher you play level-wise, the more details make the difference" - Jannik Sinner
Despite his staggering 2024 feats, Jannik Sinner expressed his intention to work on his game even more at a post-match press conference following his 2024 Nitto ATP Finals title triumph. According to the Italian, he still isn't where he'd like to be in terms of playing certain shots.
Sinner said,
"I actually believe there is still gap of improvement. I mean, today I served very, very good at times, which was not the case throughout the whole tournament. There are still certain shots and points what I can make sometimes better, but are small details. The higher you play level-wise, the more details make the difference."
Sinner's immediate future in men's tennis, though, remains uncertain owing to the appeal made by the World Anti-Doping Agency against his case, which is set to be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport early next year.