Jannik Sinner says new champions 'good for the sport' as Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer run ends in 2024

Published 09/09/2024 at 11:30 GMT

For the first time since 2002, none of the four men’s Grand Slams were won by one of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, men’s tennis’ Big Three. It marks a changing of the guard with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz winning two each. Speaking after he won the US Open on Sunday, Sinner said he thinks that new champions are "good for the sport".

Highlights: Sinner beats Fritz to claim US Open title

New US Open champion Jannik Sinner says he believes it is good for men’s tennis to have new Grand Slam winners after the astonishing dominance of the Big Three of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Sinner, 23, beat Taylor Fritz in straight sets 6-3 6-4 7-5 to win the second Grand Slam of his career after beating Daniil Medvedev in five at the Australian Open earlier this year.

After Carlos Alcaraz won both the French Open and Wimbledon, it means that 2024 will mark the first time since 2002 that none of the four slams were won by one of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer.

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Speaking to the media after his triumph at Flushing Meadows, Sinner said that he thinks it is good for the sport to have new champions.

“Well, it is a bit different, for sure,” the Italian said afterwards. “I mean, it's something new, but it's also nice to see. Nice to see new champions. Nice to see new rivalries.

“I will always have players who are going to make me a better player, because there are going to be times where they beat me.

Fritz: ‘I feel like I let a lot of people down’

“Then you have to try to find a way how to win against certain players. And also, today we saw that not everything was perfect. You know, I could have served slightly better, but, you know, this makes me realise that the work never stops.

“If you want to be a better player you always have to work, and you have to have these daily routines, accept difficult times on court.

“I feel it's good for the sport to have some new champions.”

Speaking to Eurosport’s Mats Wilander and Barbara Schett, Sinner revealed that he has the same mental coach as skiing superstar Mikaela Shiffrin.

“Me and Mikaela we actually have the same mental partner (coach) so it’s nice to hear this positive statement from her (Shiffrin backed Sinner to win the US Open final).

“We just try to improve, that’s for me the only thing I really want so after my career I can say ‘I’ve done everything possible to be in the best possible shape and the best position mentally and tennis-wise’ and then we can see what I can catch in the future.”

Sinner 'only going to get better'

Despite the dominance of Iga Swiatek, the women’s tour has coped well following the retirement of the legendary Serena Williams, with ten different Slam winners in the last five years alone.

However, there had been real concerns for the men’s tour after the retirement of Federer, the impending exit of Nadal and Djokovic in the twilight of his career.

Before Alcaraz and Sinner, three of the last four men to stop the Big Three – Stan Wawrinka, Andy Murray and Dominic Thiem – had all either retired or are edging towards the end of their careers. The other, Medvedev, had seen less slam success after initially seeming like the coming man.

But now with the likes of Sinner and Alcaraz, there are strong hopes for the future of the men’s tour.

Eurosport expert Wilander, who won the US Open himself in 1988, believes that Sinner can only get better.

"This means so much to him and he works so hard," the seven-time Slam winner said in the aftermath of the final.

"It's coming pretty quickly now after winning the Australian Open and got No. 1 in the world, but at the same time, I feel like he's taken his time.

"The steps of improvement are obvious, but it's not so obvious that we think he will win everything from now on.

"He is so solid, so good, he's great on big points, I think it was a sigh of relief after everything at the end considering how he started the tournament amidst the doping tests thing, but everyone has forgotten about that now, of course.

"Taylor Fritz was really disappointing as I think he had a chance to win, but it was not really close.

"It's just a solid two weeks. His first match against Mackenzie McDonald was the only question mark we had. I think he knew this was going to happen if he kept doing what we knew he could do.

"He can play any opponent on any surface, and we think Jannik Sinner is the favourite at the moment at this stage of his career and he is only going to get better."

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