As goes Cincy…

THE 2024 CINCINNATI OPEN NOT ONLY FORECAST THE US OPEN CHAMPS, IT SET THE STAGE FOR THE ATP AND WTA YEAR-END NO. 1. A LOOKBACK:

By Richard Osborn

Jannik Sinner stood just outside the Paul Flory Player Center, encircled by a scrum of beat reporters; mics and smartphones outstretched. Dozens of eager fans waited patiently behind them, autograph-seekers airing out their support, many armed with Sharpies and cradling oversized tennis balls.

As the reigning world No. 1, Sinner, the top seed in the men’s draw at the 2024 Cincinnati Open, was fast growing accustomed to the hailstorm of attention. The Italian, who a day earlier celebrated his 23rd birthday, had long been tagged as an elite talent. He won the Next Gen ATP Finals as a gangly, hard-hitting 18-year-old. But that attention had ramped up tenfold since he captured his maiden major singles title in January at the Australian Open.

“It has changed a little bit,” said Sinner above the din, acknowledging his newfound from-hunter-to-hunted status. “A little bit different pressure. But in my mind, I know that I still have to improve some things. This keeps you waking up in the morning, trying to do better.”

Sinner was in the midst of a historic campaign that would see him go 73-6 on the year and win a tour-best eight singles titles, among them two Grand Slams and the all-important ATP Finals. He capped the year by leading his countrymen to a successful Davis Cup title defense. He never once lost a match in straight sets.

The red-tousled baseliner would go on to defeat resurgent American Frances Tiafoe that Sunday in the Cincinnati final, 7-6(4), 6-2, the youngest tournament champion since Great Britain’s Andy Murray captured the title in 2008 at the age of 21. It was his second of three ATP Masters 1000 titles in 2024 (Miami, Cincinnati, Beijing). We didn’t know it then, of course, but for the second straight year, the Cincinnati Open would prove a precursor for both the US Open and the year-end No. 1. (Novak Djokovic pulled off the trifecta in 2023.)

“I like to dance in the pressure storm,” said Sinner back in Melbourne, clutching the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup. “I like it, because that’s where most of the time I bring out my best tennis.”

That ability to withstand the pressure would indeed come in handy, even away from the court. Not 24 hours after his triumph in Cincinnati, news broke that Sinner had tested positive for a banned substance in March in Indian Wells. Though he was fined, he was ultimately cleared by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), which determined that he bore no fault or negligence in the matter.

Sinner, the first Italian No. 1 since the computerized rankings were introduced in 1973, hung on to the top spot despite a push from Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, with whom he would split the four biggest titles of the year. The 2023 Cincinnati Open runner-up Alcaraz, whose stay in Ohio was cut short by a 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4, second-round loss to the vet Gaël Monfils of France (a defeat he would call the “worst match I’ve played in my career”) enjoyed an otherwise stellar 2024 campaign. The 21-year-old pulled off a Borgian feat when he went back-to-back at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, the first-ever man to win four majors before the age of 22. He added big-stage titles in Indian Wells and Beijing, and finished the year at No. 3, one spot behind 2021 Cincinnati Open champion Alexander Zverev of Germany.

In the wake of the retirements of Murray, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the Sinner-Alcaraz rivalry has taken hold as the most captivating matchup in the men’s game. Though Sinner would become the 29th man to assume the throne as the ATP’s year-end No. 1, it was Alcaraz who claimed all three of their meetings in 2024 (Indian Wells, Roland Garros, Beijing), upping his career head-to-head advantage to 6-4. This duel promises to get even more intense in 2025. 

Mirroring Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka would win the Australian Open, Cincinnati Open and US Open, while finishing as the year-end No. 1 on the WTA Tour. Her trophy run at the Lindner Family Tennis Center came at the expense of American Jessica Pegula, 6-3, 7-5. She also topped then-World No. 1 and five-time major singles titlist Iga Swiatek, 6-3, 6-3, in the semifinals.

Once an emotional wildcard whose game could abandon her come crunch-time (especially from the service stripe), Sabalenka became a truly complete player in 2024, not only consistently overpowering her opponents and showing newfound variety in her game, but time and again displaying veteran calm and composure in tough moments.

“I worked really hard on my mindset,” said Sabalenka at the US Open, where she once again edged Pegula, 7-5, 7-5, in a rematch of the Cincinnati Open final. “I think I’ve made really huge improvements to that calmness in the crucial moments. I’m really happy to see that in those key moments I’m able to stay focused and just try to do my best and focus on my tennis, on things I have to do to win the match. Even if things are not working well, I still keep doing the right things and stay in control. I’m really proud of myself that I was able to get to the point when I’m in control of my emotions.”

Like Sinner vs. Alcaraz, the Sabalenka vs. Swiatek rivalry has taken on a life of its own. Swiatek has prevailed in eight of their 12 career meetings, including the Madrid and Rome finals in 2024, but Sabalenka’s convincing result in the Cincinnati semis signaled a balancing of powers.

“It’s always high intensity matches,” said Sabalenka, 26. “We’ve had a lot of great battles.”

“She’s a great tennis player,” said Swiatek, a two-time semifinalist in Cincinnati. “What can I say? She’s always fighting. She can play great tennis. She has great shots, great backhand and a lot of power.”

Swiatek, 23, led the women’s tour with five titles on the year, including her third straight at Roland Garros. But her second stint at No. 1 would come to an end at 50 weeks, Sabalenka now the top dog.

“Tennis is a really tough sport, and you have to be mentally strong,” said Sabalenka. “You have to have this resilience. It only comes with experience. It only comes with all those tough, tough losses. After all those tough matches you’re losing. Unless you’re just born that way — calm, you don’t really care about stuff. But for me, it’s only come with experience.”