By beating Jannik Sinner in the Masters final, Novak Djokovic concluded an almost perfect season. Summary of a week full of twists and turns.
Novak Djokovic will have won almost everything this season, and this Turin Masters did not escape him. In the final, he dominated from start to finish Jannik Sinner (6-3, 6-3), to take revenge on the one who had beaten him in the group stage. With this 7th victory at the end-of-year Masters, the Serbian becomes the single most successful player in the tournament, ahead of Roger Federer (6 titles). Without this defeat in the Wimbledon final against Carlos Alcaraz, he would even have achieved a historic Grand Slam which still eludes him. He still achieved the 4th “Little Slam” of his career (winning three Grand Slam tournaments in the same year), a new record ahead of Roger Federer, who achieved it three times (2004, 2006, 2007).
Jannik Sinner’s beautiful week
At home, Jannik Sinner delivered one of the best tournaments of his young career. He will surely have regrets after this lost final, especially since he did not show the same face as during the previous matches. He will perhaps also think of this last group match, where he could have eliminated Novak Djokovic by leaving Holger Rune earn. But the Italian, in front of his audience, played the game. This tournament confirms that he has reached a real milestone this year.
By beating Novak Djokovic for the first time (7-5, 6-7, 7-6) in the group stage, while the Serbian was not that far from his best level, he proved to himself that he He now had no more limits to set on his ambitions. He also beat Daniil Medvedev for the third time in a row (6-3, 6-7, 6-1), to eliminate him in the semi-final. In 2023, Jannik Sinner won his first Masters 1000 in Canada and reached the first Grand Slam semi-final of his career, at Wimbledon. At just 22 years old, he is a solid 4th in the world who could get closer, in 2024, to his first Grand Slam coronation.
Blunt Alcaraz, Too Soft Rune
On the side of disappointments, Carlos Alcaraz showed that he was not at his best at the end of the 2023 season. Thanks to his victory against an already qualified Medvedev, he still managed to get out of the groups, but was swept away by Novak Djokovic in the semi-final ( 6-3, 6-2), without ever being able to compete. Holger Rune showed a very good level of play but also an irregularity which was fatal to him, against Novak Djokovic (7-6, 6-7, 6-3) then Jannik Sinner (6-2, 5-7, 6- 4). Daniil Medvedev was very solid to eliminate Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev in the group, but was beaten in the semi-final by Jannik Sinner. Stefanos Tsitsipas, physically affected, was unable to defend his chances.
Who are the players qualified for the 2023 Turin Masters?
The top eight players in the ATP rankings at the end of the year are qualified. In 2023, these are:
- Novak Djokovic
- Carlos Alcaraz
- Daniel Medvedev
- Jannik Sinner
- Andrey Rublev
- Stefanos Tsitsipas
- Alexander Zverev
- Holger Rune
What are the group rankings for the Turin Masters?
“Green” group:
- Jannik Sinner : 3 wins, 0 losses
- Novak Djokovic : 2 v., 1 d.
- Holger Rune: 1 v., 2 d.
- Hubert Hukarcz: 0 v., 1 d.
- Stefanos Tsitsipas 0 v., 2 l.
“Red” group:
- Carlos Alcaraz : 2 v., 1 d. (+3 sets)
- Daniel Medvedev : 2 v., 1 d. (+2 sets)
- Alexander Zverev: 2 v., 1 l. (+1 set)
- Andrey Rublev: 0 v., 3 l.
Semi-finals: Novak Djokovic – Carlos Alcaraz (6-3, 6-2), Jannik Sinner – Daniil Medvedev (6-3, 6-7, 6-1).
Finale: Novak Djokovic – Jannik Sinner (6-3, 6-3).