Jannik Sinner is a player who started the year as a real threat to those who had dominated 2023.
However, few could have imagined how he would storm to such early success, swiftly establishing himself as the man to now beat.
His ascendancy to the top of the rankings capped off his stellar season, which shows no signs of slowing down as we near the final few months of the year.
And, whilst a tough task, Jannik Sinner has managed to pinpoint the exact improvement he has made which has aided his game the most.
Jannik Sinner reveals his biggest improvement in 2024
Speaking to Tennis TV after the Shanghai Masters final, Sinner and Novak Djokovic were both asked about their thoughts on the match and their respective years as a whole.
Naturally, the former will be feeling far better about his campaign, which has brought him two Grand Slam titles amongst numerous other accolades.
The improvements the Italian made across the year have been startling, but he has pinpointed his biggest within this interview.
He stated: ‘I feel like physically I am ready to play for a longer amount of time at the highest level possible and also mentally I am ready to accept every tough situation on the court. I think that is the biggest step I made forward. Just trying to stay as calm as possible and to keep working hard.
‘It doesn’t really matter if you have a good or a bad week, just trying to improve daily, and whenever you have a chance to try new things, try to see new things.
‘The worst case is that you see what is working and what is not working and trying to be mature enough to understand what is working. I feel like that for me has made a big impact this year and hopefully it’s going to help for the next year.’
Djokovic rated his own 2024 too, branding it one of his ‘worst-performing’ of all time before finding some comfort.
Jannik Sinner has been the dominant player this year
When combing back through 2024, there are so many assets that Sinner could have pointed to as his most improved, given how scintillating he has been all year.
After all, the 23-year-old has been the outstanding player of the season by some distance.
This is no greater exemplified than through his 65-6 record, having shared the Grand Slams with Carlos Alcaraz at two apiece.
His monopoly has been over the hard courts though in particular, with a 94% win rate, losing just three matches and winning six titles, five of them big ones too: Australian Open, Miami, Cincinnati, US Open and now the Shanghai Masters.
His Spanish counterpart has rivalled him well throughout the year, but injuries and shock early exits have scuppered his chances of challenging him for more honours or for the year-end world number one spot.
Sinner has earned that title, as the dominant player of 2024.
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