No. 25: Tomas Machac

The Czech is very solid, and powerful, too, upsetting Carlos Alcaraz in Shanghai when he reached into the semis, and finally, he losing against the No. 1,  Jannik Sinner. He also, shocked Novak Djokovic in the semis in Switzerland. He can play amazing. However, there are many events when he lost, early, so he needs to improve his serve, and at the net, also. If he wants to be more consistent, then he should try to rush the net, more.

No. 24: Alexei Popyrin

The Aussie Open has had a few tremendous wins, when he also stunned Djokovic in the third round at the US Open. His forehand and his backhand were on fire. A month ago, he won the ATP 1000 at Montreal, out-punching Andrey Rublev in the final. He had really turned it around. However, there were some months when he lost pretty early, so he must be more fitting, with his return, and his direction. At least, though, he has added a few darn good shots. 

No. 23: Alejandro Tabilo

In June, he won Mallorca, on the grass before Wimbledon started, and that was somewhat surprising, but he hung in there. After that, he did little, yet before that, he went deep, in Rome, and also, he won a tournament, in Aix-en-Provence, France. He was so loyal, and darn, smart. As long he can be healthy, he can win another event, against the very good people.

No. 22: Sebastian Korda

The San Diego man became injured again, at the US Open, so he stopped for the rest of the year. He is still pretty young, as he should be fine in January, but it happened a few times,  so he has to be very careful, with his body. He did have a few fine events, going deep at Montreal when he reached into the semis, upsetting Taylor Fritz and Alexander Zverev. He also won in Washington on the hardcourts. His strong backhand and his forehand were forceful, and finally, he went for it, earlier. Really, when he is playing intense, and very good, then he can beat many of the skilled players, but if he wants to eventually get into the top 5, he is going to have to prove it.

No. 21: Ben Shelton

Yes, the young Atlanta player can look stellar, as he can bash his forehand, and he can explode. He has had some very good events, but he has also lost when he would forget about exactly what he needs to do. He did win Houston, in April, but at the huge events, he went down during the third sets, or even the fifth sets. At the US Open, in front of the crows, he lost against the other American, Frances Tiafoe, 6-3 in the fifth. Ouch.  He can eventually reach into the top 10, as long as he can improve his backhand, and at the return. He is already pretty sharp, and he will get elegant, year after year.

No. 32: Maria Sakkari

There were times when she was playing spectacular, as when she was rocking in the matches, she made it into the semis at two Slams, at Roland Garros and the US Open in 2021. She made it into the top three, which was terrific. However,  this year,  she did not do well, month after month, except for Indian Wells, when she upset CoCo Gauff in the semis, yet Iga Swiatek crushed her. After that, the Greek did little. Yes she is still very fast, and she really likes to play long rallies, but her forehand and her serves are somewhat short. She is going to attack much more, and earlier.

No. 31: Leylah Fernandez

The Canadian is still young, and while she can be to soft, she can also try to find the lines. Sometimes, she changed her tactics, and she can grind it, too, but she backs off. She is strong, yet she needs to improve her serve and the returns, too. Attack, attack, and then the 2021 US Open final can eventually be in the top 10. Maybe.

No. 30: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova

The Russian has played for many years; in 2024, she recorded her 500th career win. That is a lot. The 33-year-old plays almost every week, trying to smash the ball when she can and often when she is locked in, and she can beat almost anyone. But not anymore, as she has lost pretty early this season. But, in the Slams, she can look very good, reaching the final at the 2021 Roland Garros. She will try to do it again, if she can improve her footwork.

No. 29: Yulia Putintseva

The veteran has won three titles. Not much, but at least on the grass this year, she did win Birmingham. She was darn happy. Now, though, the 29-year-old can re-set and try to hit her forehand harder. Her backhand is solid, but she should try to crush it down the line. 

No. 28: Ekaterina Alexandrova

The Russian reached into the semis at Miami, upsetting Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula. That was somewhat wild, as she lost a lot in the first rounds this year. However, she can swing away, when she is feeling very good, very deep. Also, though, she looks very frustrated on the court. Alexandrova didn’t play well in the fall, so if she wants to get better, she has to improve her forehand and at the net, touching it and putting it away. 

No. 27: Liudmila Samsonova

So many Russians are playing well when locked in, but they are not specular yet. This year, she won the title in ’s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.  After that, she had a few very good matches but could not go deep enough. Samsonova is young enough to attempt to go at the net and nail it right on the lines.

No. 26: Linda Noskova

The 20-year-old is rising fast, as the Czech won many matches in January in Australia. She didn’t win it all, but her forehand is tremendous. However, she can back off, and she is still trying to figure it out what to do. In the summer, she won the title in Monterrey. The heat must have been brutal, yet at least she hung in there. Next year, it will be fascinating as she wants to get rid of the up-and-down return and her second server, too.  Then, she will be close to the top 10 and further.

What a wild match. The Americans had a chance to go on onto the semis at the Davis Cup in Malaga, Spain, against the Australians, but in the third set,  Thanasi Kokkinakis wouldn’t fold. He outlasted versus Ben Shelton 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(14). Kokkinakis saved six match points, but he together a few amazing strokes.  The young American Shelton tripped up. He was not thrilled, at all. 

That was the first match, and in the second match, the No. 4 Taylor Fritz beat

Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-4.  Then in the doubles, the two Aussies Matthew Ebden and Jordan Thompson rose, beating  Shelton and Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-4.  

“I fought my ass off, and I didn’t leave anything out there on the court, but to not get a win in one of those two matches hurts pretty bad,” Shelton said.

How about Kokkinakis, who has been around for a long time, but over the past year, he is more consistent, and also, he can changed new tactics. “I don’t know if I’ve been that pumped up in my life, I wanted that one bad, I wanted to help my team,” said Kokkinakis.

“(The tiebreak) was tough, we were both serving well, I think I only got tight on one shot… he was serving incredibly, I can’t even speak, I’m happy.”

He really was. The Davis Cup captain Bob Bryan made a choice, to use Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram in the doubles, but opted to use Tommy Paul and Shelton. They couldn’t do it. 

“We were expecting the other pair, but we knew they’ve got incredible players who can play doubles,” said Ebden. “We were ready. A slight adjustment obviously. More huge serving singles players than the doubles craft, maybe, but it was just as big a challenge as any. Out here, final live match, just to play with Jordan here was real fun.”

The Australian will face  against Italy,  including the No. 1 Jannik Sinner, on Saturday.

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It is pretty unusual that Carlos Alcaraz will face off against Alexander Zverev in Turin. In order to advance into the semis. t

The Spaniard has to win, and not into the third set. He lost against Casper Ruud in straight sets, so if Ruud beats Andrey Rublev, then he will advances. It is very complicated, no?

Anyway, Alcaraz and Zverev have played each other 10 times, and it is split, 5-5. Early on,  in 2021, the Spaniard was getting started, but then he came very big. However, at the ATP Finals one year ago, Zverev took him down in three, tight sets. This year, the German beat him at the Aussie Open in the quarters. Six weeks later, at Indian Wells on the hardcourts,  Alcaraz destroyed Zverev. They know each other very well, and they have also to really mix it up, and smash it, when they can. They also really like to rally, and try to jump on the second serves. Also, they can try to nail it, down the lines.

“My chances of qualifying are still there, so we’re going to go all out. He is one of the toughest players in the world for sure,” Alcaraz said. “I think I return pretty well but he has a really big serve and plays unbelievable from the baseline, which makes him a really tough opponent to face. I don’t like to face him because of his serves and shots, but I am trying to find the beauty of playing him.”

He has three Grand Slams, and he could do it once again, next year, but it is critical to snare it in Italy. 

The No. 2 Zverev has never won a Slam, but he has won it many times, 23, including at the ATP Finals, twice, and some at the ATP Masters. 

“I’m happy with the win. Maybe it was even better than my first match, even though the first match was quite good as well,” said Zverev. “I’m looking forward to Carlos now on Friday. “I’m missing a little bit the differences in surfaces because before there was a clear difference between a clay court and outdoor hard courts. Some were very slow like in Indian Wells, but some were very fast, like Canada was always very fast, Shanghai was always very fast. And indoor hard courts. I think we lost that a little bit by trying to make all the surfaces very similar and almost the same.”

Both Taylor Fritz and  Jannik Sinner won, today, and they will advance into the semifinal. Against who, now one will know, yet.

Over the past 20 years ago, very few Americans have made it into the ATP Finals. But this season, Taylor Fritz qualified among the eight players. Fritz started very well, beating Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-3. He played terrific, but the Russian went crazy, throwing his racket, again and again. In the end, he was totally frustrated. His anger went mad. Hopefully, Medvedev will recover, so he can show with the fans in Italy. Or maybe not. 

Fritz has had an interesting season, playing mediocre, and then, he can turn the lights, reaching the US Open for the first time. He lost to Jannik Sinner, but there were some games when he was darn close, but not enough. 

On Tuesday, Fritz will have to do it again, as the No. 1 Sinner is so solid now. He is incredibly powerful, from both sides, to nail his first serve. He beat Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-4 on Sunday at Turin with some tremendous shots.

It should be a fascinating match between Fritz and Sinner, whether they will change it up or try to crush it, early, on the hardcourts. Medvedev will face Minaur on Tuesday.

Carlos Alcaraz is sick and hurt on the court and off, and then he lost versus Casper Ruud 6-1, 7-5. Ruud can look amazing finding the corners, plus he does like to rally. However, the three-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz also likes to throw it all around, and he is very fast. But he is still young, and he can become upset when he thinks about it. Plus, he has to recover, or he will be out.  

“It can be a bit tricky,” said Ruud. “I knew he was dealing with a bit of a cold. I saw him sniffling in the back area and with a tissue for his nose, so that’s a sign that maybe physically he won’t be necessarily at 100 percent. Of course, that is sad, and not good for him, but at the same time it is part of the game… but it’s definitely one of the best wins of the season for me.”

Alexander Zverev is playing much better now. He is getting stronger, beating Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-4. It was someone close, but the Russian wasn’t returning well, so to out-hit Zverev, he had to bring it back and hit it very hard down the lines. Yet he didn’t.

“I thought it was a very solid match from my end,” said Zverev. “Against anyone here, you have to play your best to have a chance, you have to be solid [and] mentally strong.”

Zverev will play against Ruud in what should be a thrilling match-up.

It has been an odd year, but the young player, Coco Gauff, has finally risen, and in the semis at the WTA Finals, she was so solid and powerful. The American stunned Aryna Sabalenka 7-6(4), 6-3. She was right there, backhand to backhand, and she could nail her improving forehand, down the line. Yes, Sabalenka has won three Grand Slams, and she is incredibly powerful, but very good opponents can confuse her, and this time, Gauff did. At the net, she is already very smart, bending down, and she can put it away. 

A few years ago, the current 20-year-old still couldn’t improve her second serve, but now, it is much better. Plus, if a player decides to pay attention month after month, she will eventually be much better. At the 2023 US Open, she won it. 

This week against the terrific other players, she is right there, or even better. Also, Sabalenka made way too many errors. “I’m happy with the way I played,” Gauff said. “I know that coming up against Aryna, she’s always going to be a tough match. She is world No 1 for a reason.”

Eventually, she might do it next year. But in the final, she has to face Zheng Qinwen, who has had a fascinating year, when she beat Barbora Krejcikova 6-3, 7-5 in the semis, out-hitting her with deep, hard strokes. She can run very fast and go for it early. When the Chinese player can lock it in, Qinwen can try to dominate it. In the summer, she won the Olympic gold medal. She must be convinced that when she can smash her forehand, then she can explode. “I think I’m more explosive compared to the [2024] Australia Open final [which she lost]. Even though I was in the final I never met any seeds on the way,” Qinwen said. “This was the tricky part. I would say I move faster and then my ball goes faster, my serve goes faster, and my endurance improved a lot.” 

Both of them have to walk onto the court and see whether you are very nervous. Still, they know that to see which way to go, trying to be patient or go for it early. On the hardcourts,  in front of the large crowds, they have to be consistent, as well, and to find the lines.

“Zheng is playing great tennis too, but I just need to play confidently. That will help me win. I’m not nervous,” Gauff said. “Being here is a reward for the season I’ve had.”