2024 Season | Highlights So Far
Comebacks, triumphs, meltdowns. We've seen it all. And it's only March 😃 Here are claytaste's top picks and PoVs.
1. Nadal's comeback (that didn't happen)
The most exciting intrigue in 2024 has been Rafael Nadal's long awaited comeback. We had a quick preview in Brisbane, where Rafa showed us what we've been missing when he cruised past Thiem and Kubler... but then broke fans' hearts when after his loss to Jordan Thompson in the quarter finals Nadal announced another injury and he would skip the AO. More fan heartache followed with withdrawals from Doha, Dubai, and eventually Indian Wells. In between, we have been treated to a Netflix Slam, where Rafa and Carlitos played a great match, but which left some fans with more questions about the great comeback.
But then hey, everyone keeps saying "let's wait for the clay season". So no panic just yet. Let's see what happens in Monaco and Roland Garros.
2. Sinner the winner
The new Grand Slam champion was born at the AO. The rise of Jannik Sinner has been absolutely stunning since the second half of last year. But had someone told us a year ago that the Italian would become such a force, we would have not taken it seriously. Amazing work by Jannik and his team, unbelievable success. Four titles last year, including ATP Masters 1000 Canada, two more titles already this year, including the Grand Slam. So who is the new hard court king and the best Italian tennis player in the history? Not only is he a German-speaking Italian, but he also started his tennis training relatively late and had a solid skiing career prior. He is a Gucci man (check out his bag collection) and he likes carrots so much that he now has a dedicated carrot costumed fan band following him around on tournaments.
Jannik has his eyes on more Slams and becoming number 1. Can anyone stop Jannik? We hope not 🦊
3. Novak and Andy, the last of the Big Four still standing, but for how much longer?
Not much to say here. Andy Murray is now regularly asked about his possible retirement and has himself stated that he might not play at the AO next year. This is truly heartbreaking and we really hope that Andy will stick around for much longer, but we should mentally prepare for him possibly joining Roger in the Royal Box soon.
Meanwhile, more and more commentators are saying that Novak is "not the same anymore". Please. Stop.
4. Mental health and player reputation
When someone says "mental health" with regards to tennis players, there are several players that come to mind immediately. But there is one player that you can't help but wonder (or worry) about and it is Andrey Rublev. If Netflix is looking for a new show, they should look no further than scripting an "Inside Rublev's head" thriller. Known for his friendly and likeable personality outside the tennis court, Andrey has earned himself quite a reputation with his highly emotional and often explosive character during matches.
We will have to do a separate deep dive on this, but Rublev's on-court antics over the last few months have escalated so much, that at one point a match commentator said that the Russian player "completely lost his mind". Most recently, Andrey's behaviour towards a line referee resulted in his disqualification at a semifinals stage at a tournament in Dubai. Rublev appealed the decision and got away with a fine, avoiding further damages to his ranking. He also apologised for his outburst, saying that he learned from this experience. But while many fans have been siding with Andrey and criticising the disqualification, others have been asking why the intervention came in so late.
We love you Andrey ❤️
5. Who will be the next big thing?
Alcaraz, Medvedev, Sinner. These guys are at the top of the ATP ranking and all now have at least one Grand Slam title. All the three are now playing remarkably well. So the question is whether they will be the next Big Three, or whether we will see the end of an era and start of unpredictability, similar to what we have seen in the WTA tour.
Let's take Carlitos, for instance. Two Grand Slams, plus a Netflix Slam, minus a rough patch in recent tournaments and an injury. Will we see him come back at RG and Wimbledon? We definitely hope so, but the question stands.
Then there is also Alex Zverev, who bounced back from his injury and has been showing amazing tennis at the AO in January. Great player with great potential (let us just remind you the US Open Final with Thiem in 2020!), but also some dark clouds hanging over him, with abuse allegations and upcoming court proceedings (possibly coinciding with RG).
More great players - above-mentioned Rublev, Rune, Hurkacz, Fritz, Rudd, Tsitsipas and de Minaur. Are these guys Grand Slam champion material?
What do you think? Post your thoughts in the comments 👇
