Sinner's dominant start to the season helped secure the top spot at the end of the year

Sinner, who will face Novak Djokovic in the final, first reached first place at the French Open in June and has not relinquished it since. He is the first Italian to achieve this feat.

The 23-year-old has won six trophies in 2024, including his first two Grand Slam triumphs at the Australian Open and US Open.

Sinner won his first 16 games of the season, boosting his confidence, and now has 64 wins and six losses this season.

Asked whether he thought he could reach the top spot as he outlined his plans for the season, Sinner said at a post-match press conference on Saturday: “No, not really, because you can't predict the future in any particular way Predict wisely.”

“It also depends on how you start a season. When you start as well as I did, you know, with the win in Australia, then you have a lot more confidence throughout the season.”

Sinner also set the record for most wins by a male Italian player in a single season in the Open era, leading the Italian movement in 2024, which also saw the rise of French Open and Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini.

PROUD ITALIAN

“I'm very proud to be Italian and to just bring something back to the fans. They give me so much love,” Sinner added.

“But it's not just me, there are so many great (Italian) players that we have in the top 100, top 200. It’s amazing that tennis is growing and hopefully it can get even bigger.”

However, the season also brought problems for Sinner off the pitch, as the Italian was involved in a doping case.

Sinner said his physical therapist applied an over-the-counter spray containing Clostebol to his own skin to treat a small finger wound and then gave him massages from March 5 to 13 without wearing gloves.

Sinner is aiming for his 17th ATP title in the Shanghai Masters final on Sunday against fourth seed Djokovic, who is aiming for his 100th ATP title.

The Italian has won three of his last four matches, with his last victory over the Serb coming in this year's Australian Open semi-finals.

“… we have always had some very difficult games in the past. It will be a very difficult game, it is one of the biggest challenges we have in our sport,” said Sinner after his win on Saturday.

“I'm happy that I can play against him in the final. It’s even more special and it’s very hard to predict this final.”

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