Post-2024 US Open ATP storylines: The race between Alcaraz and Sinner for No. 1 ... and more

Two men who’ve each won two majors. Ascending Americans. Intriguing team events. And the shifting status of two tennis titans. Here’s more on five storylines in men’s tennis that could further shape the tale of 2024.

Who’s No. 1?

This being September, baseball’s pennant races are heating up. Though that’s not always automatically the case in tennis, it’s certainly true in 2024. Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have each won two majors this year–Sinner at the Australian and US Open, Alcaraz at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Alcaraz has won both of their 2024 matches, including rallying from two sets to one down in the semis of Roland Garros. Sinner of late has far more positive momentum, fueled by everything from a relentless commitment to improvement to his exceptionally concussive strokes. Alcaraz dazzled in Paris and London, but has fizzled since, looking particularly lackluster and even distraught while losing early in both Cincinnati and New York.

And so, as the era of the “Big 3” nears its official finish, Sinner and Alcaraz have emerged as tennis’ premier rivalry.

“Nice to see new champions,” said Sinner. “Nice to see new rivalries. I always have players and 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. Then you have to try to find a way how to win against certain players.”

As fall gets underway, here’s hoping Sinner and Alcaraz can chase each other all over Asia and Europe and close it out dramatically in November at the ATP Finals.

Two American men: Small steps, giant leap?

A good American generation could well be on the path to becoming a great one. For the first time since 2005, two American men reached the semis of the US Open. Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz got to the final four with an inspired mix of power, movement, and great play under pressure. Their Friday night semi was lively; if not a classic, certainly a high level of intensity and precisely the kind of battle that excites American tennis aficionados.

“I think it opened the floodgates for sure,” Tiafoe said following the match. “I think guys are gonna start believing they can go deep in Slams.”

Tiafoe was even more thrilling seven days earlier, when he earned a redemptive five-set win over the man who beat him a year ago in New York, Ben Shelton. Americans Tommy Paul and Brandon Nakashima also each made fine runs to the round of 16.

Let’s see what’s to come for all of them throughout the rest of the year. Of slight concern: Sebastian Korda, a Top 20 player who only went 5-4 at the majors this year. In the bigger picture, while Fritz leads the way becoming the first American male to advance to a Slam final since Andy Roddick’s 2009 Wimbledon, all the others are highly skilled and motivated. It’s tennis’ classic incubator-like situation: Competition breeds excellence.

A question for team events: Can't we all just get along?

The reformation of Davis Cup has been a hot tennis topic for 50 years. But the major format shift that was launched in 2019 has had the inadvertent effect of pushing the game’s longstanding premier team event to a remote corner of the radar screen. Meanwhile, Laver Cup has blossomed as a fun and lively mix of competition, camaraderie, and cinema verite. While Davis Cup is struggling to capture eyeballs, everything from the rosters to the scoring system to the omnipresent cameras to the regal presence of Rod Laver and Roger Federer has made Laver Cup tennis’ exquisite reality show.

From an American standpoint, consider September.

Sept. 10-15 will see America’s Davis Cup team compete at a round-robin event, to be held in Zhuhai, China. Team members: Brandon Nakashima, Mackenzie McDonald, Reilly Opelka, Austin Krajicek, Rajeev Ram.

Sept. 20-22 will see several American compete on the Laver Cup Team World squad, to be held in Berlin. These include: Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul.

Great events, great players, great competition: surely there are ways to program and schedule these two events in a way that helps each thrive.

Djokovic in the twilight

For most players, a run to the Wimbledon finals is a career pinnacle. For Novak Djokovic, it was ostensibly a warmup event prior to his personally meaningful run to a gold medal in the Olympic singles tournament.

“Turned out to be one of the best performances I had in years overall throughout the entire tournament,” Djokovic said about his Olympic effort.

“Of course in the finals against Carlos, it was kind of a dream scenario really having my wife and children there, the entire nation watching. Just a very proud moment of experiencing the golden medal, you know, around my neck with Serbian anthem and Serbian flag. Very, very special. Probably the most intense emotions I have ever had on a tennis court.”

But besides those efforts in London and Paris, Djokovic’s 2024 has been his last productive year since his teens. At 37, what’s to come? Does Djokovic compete extensively this fall in hopes of reasserting himself as a viable force? Or does he withdraw completely from competition, regroup, and return in grand style to Melbourne and Rod Laver Arena, where he’s won the Australian Open 10 times?

Andre Agassi is back: What next?

It’s always fascinating when, once a former player’s decompression phase is over, he or she makes his or her way back to the sport. That’s exponentially case when it’s a legend with as much crossover cache as Andre Agassi. Starting at the Australian Open with a clever Uber One commercial that spoofed his ‘80s haircut, continuing with such occurrences as being named 2025 Laver Cup captain and giving out the trophy at this year’s US Open, Agassi has spent much of 2024 dipping his toes back into the sport he has long viewed with love, hate, and wisdom.

“Whatever you feel on the tennis court, whatever you struggle with on a tennis court, there’s always a reason,” Agassi told The Athletic’s Matthew Futterman in a recent story. “It’s just, how hard are we willing to fight to find the reason? You feel something on a court that’s either good or not good, then you have to wrap your brain around it.”

The tennis world is Agassi’s oyster. How in 2025 will he seek to pry it open?