5 Best Matches Of 2024

This past season has been a quite special one for me and the rest of the tennis fans worldwide. Jannik Sinner broke through and dominated the tour all year long and we kept watching what Carlos Alcaraz is capable of by winning the Channel Slam (French Open & Wimbledon). Novak Djokovic finally won the Olympic Gold Medal, and Aryna Sabalenka proved why she deserves the #1 spot. American players also kept showing up, especially Taylor Fritz, who is at a career high ranking of #4 and made the US Open final. Lastly, Rafael Nadal retired two weeks ago, a player whose presence on the court will be missed everyday. Nevertheless, there are current news that are equally important and matches to recap.

Djokovic’s Coach

Last week, we found out that Andy Murray is going to be Novak Djokovic's new coach and I thought right away this is like Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed. Once they were playing against each other and now one is coaching the other. This is super exciting and the big question is will this have a positive impact on Novak Djokovic's 2025 season. I think it's possible that this might provide a spark to Novak Djokovic. This shows me that Novak Djokovic is still motivated to do big things in tennis but as I've discussed many times the effect that professional coaching at the elite level has on players' performances is minimal.

I estimate it to be somewhere between 1 and 5%. If we have a player that's very young and inexperienced it's possibly closer to 5% and if we have a player that's older and more experienced the effect is possibly closer to 1%. Now, will that be enough to get back to the top of the game? That's the big question mark and I have my doubts. I think Novak has proven in 2024 that he can still challenge Alcaraz but he has had his struggles with Sinner this year: they played twice and Novak did not really have a chance to win. Novak is not alone in this Sinner because is absolutely dominating the tour. He has now added feel to his repertoire by hitting better drop shots and hitting the Alcaraz inside-out forehand drop shot really well from the backhand corner.

Sinner & Friends

Jannik is moving well, serving well, hitting so precisely and cleanly from the baseline, he's going to be hard to stop and you better believe Sinner is going to continue to improve his game. I don't see any reason why Sinner wouldn't be able to dominate the clay season and also the grass season, so it's going to be interesting to see whether he can do that and it's also going to be super interesting to see what the other guys will do.

Medvedev is still playing well, and Zverev is on top of his game, for he finished the season off strong. Alcaraz has had Sinner's number this year. He beat him in Indian Wells, he beat him at the French Open, and he also beat him in Beijing. Alcaraz has had a great year winning two slams and winning Indian Wells but there have also been some up-and-down performances. I'm looking for Alcaraz to stabilize his game and make it more consistent throughout the entire year.

Best Matches

Now let's cover the top five tennis matches of 2024 five matches of 2024. I put Nadal against Navone at number five. Fans were able to see vintage Rafa at certain times. He was far away from his prime but the match lasted three hours and fifty-nine minutes. Navone lost the first set 7-6 then won the second set 7-5, and won the third set 7-5. The match featured so many ups and downs. The stands were absolutely packed and the crowd was enjoying it, and everyone was having a great time. This was certainly the last great Rafael Nadal performance, and fans enjoyed it deeply.

Next up at number four is Swiatek versus Sabalenka in the Madrid Open final. This match lasted three hours and eleven minutes. Swiatek won the first set 7-5, lost the second set 6-4, then won the third set 7-6 saving three match points. This match was the best advertisement for WTA, which in my opinion, is better than ever. There are so many great players at the top game, arguably the two best ones are Sabalenka and Swiatek. I would also include Rybakina in that group but she is still trying to find form. She took lots of time off towards the end of the year. The fast conditions of Madrid were more suitable for Sabalenka because she is an unbelievably heavy hitter. She hits the ball faster than most men on average. On the other hand, Swiatek played defense like Rafael Nadal and was able to snatch the match from Sabalenka.

Coming in at number three is the Australian Open final between Sinner and Medvedev. It's interesting to see Sinner in January compared to Sinner now; there's a huge difference. Even though Sinner was good in January, after he won his first Grand Slam tournament, he's gotten much better this year. The match was a super interesting one, a three-hour forty-four minute affair. Medvedev came out with a great strategy, playing unbelievably aggressively and not letting Sinner breathe. He won the first set 6-3 and the second set 6-3. Then something happened: Sinner quite frankly set the tone for the rest of the season and found his best level when it mattered most. Down two sets to love in a Grand Slam final, Sinner wins the third set 6-4, wins the fourth set 6-4, then wins the fifth set 6-3 to collect his first Grand Slam title.

Coming in at number two for the best match of 2024 is Alcaraz versus Zverev in the French Open final. While not necessarily the best match quality-wise, it was very much an up-and-down match with a pure entertainment factor that I will never forget. It was a four-hour nineteen-minute affair. Alcaraz came out strong as the favorite and won the first set 6-3. Then Zverev woke up and started playing unbelievably, winning the second set 6-2. Interestingly, Zverev continued to play well and won the third set 7-5, now up two sets to one against Alcaraz in a Grand Slam final, very close to collecting his first Grand Slam Championship. But wait, Alcaraz woke up and started playing better, winning the fourth set 6-1. The fifth set, although it went 6-2, featured a lot of drama including a super tight call. There was a lot of speculation on the internet that Zverev was cheated, but I don't think so.

Coming in at number one, the undisputed best match, it's undeniable: Djokovic versus Alcaraz in the Olympic final. This was not only the best match of 2024 but one of the best matches of all time. You could argue about the quality of play; I thought it was very high level from both, but you can make arguments that there were some nervy parts to the match. There was a tremendous amount of pressure; it was one of the most important matches in Djokovic's career. Remember the circumstances before the final? I remember them well. There weren't many people giving Djokovic a chance because he was struggling. He had just lost to Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final easily in three sets and had a knee injury sustained at the French Open. Alcaraz was on top of the tennis world, winning back-to-back French Open and Wimbledon titles.

Djokovic came out with a game plan of extending rallies and making Alcaraz play. They called it a stupid tactic, keeping the ball in play, saying Djokovic was going to get blown off the court. But it worked because there was a lot of tension in the match, and Alcaraz did have some patchy moments. Djokovic never ended up breaking Alcaraz in the match; it was two tight tiebreaks, basically winning the important points. His serve was in danger several times, but Djokovic was incredibly clutch in those moments and played two spectacular tiebreaks. He possibly won the most important title of his life, which meant he had won every single tournament there is to win. So, this was the defining match of 2024.

Final Thoughts

Look, I know you guys will bring up the Beijing final between Sinner and Alcaraz. You could possibly put that at number five or number four, or even higher if you want. It was a super high-level match; I personally put it at number six. I think the rivalry between Sinner and Alcaraz is one that has potential to be the greatest of all time. The Beijing match is possibly the best one they've played, so I expect a lot more great battles from those two guys in 2025. Who knows, we may finally see a Grand Slam final between the two. I could just be speculating, but I’m confident Alcaraz can lift the trophy down under in January.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!