It’s a Masters This year’s Masters of Tennis will be an unprecedented event in many respects, kicking off on Sunday in Turin with the Medvedev – Fritz encounter at 2pm. For the first time since Sydney in 2001, none of the Big 3 (Federer, Nadal, Djokovic) will be present at this year-end event. So it’s going to be an open Masters, with a few favourites emerging, namely Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev. Further back, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, Alex de Minaur and Andrey Rublev will be hoping to spring a surprise. As a reminder, the winner of the tournament, if undefeated, will pocket 1,500 ATP points and 4.8 million euros, an amount greater than any Grand Slam title.

Will Jannik Sinner win his first Masters on home soil?

This is the greatest opportunity of his life. Participating in the Masters for the third time in his career, Jannik Sinner is one of the favorites for the 2024 edition. After a very successful year, with victories in the Australian Open and at US Open with his place as world number 1 secured for the end of the season, the Italian will be able to count on an enthusiastic public to support him and succeed Novak Djokovic. What’s more, the 23-year-old benefits from a good alignment of the planets. Sinner finds himself in a very affordable group with Medvedev, Fritz and de Minaur, whom he will face on Sunday at 8.30pm. With the exception of Medvedev, these are players with little form or experience who are ahead of them in head-to-head matches. All the more reason to hope for a quiet rise to power.

Can Zverev and Alcaraz get in Sinner’s way?

They are the two outsiders of the tournament. Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz are probably the only two players who can prevent Jannik Sinner from winning his first Masters on home soil. The former is in excellent form. He has just won the Rolex Paris Masters with authority, losing just one set. He has regained the number two spot in the world from Alcaraz and loves the Masters. He has already won it twice, in 2018 (in London) and 2021 (in Turin). Alcaraz is less fit than Zverev. With the exception of his title in Beijing, the Spaniard has seen a more lacklustre end to the season than his two rivals. Both players are in the same group and are due to face each other on Wednesday. The group runner-up is set to meet Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals. A good reason to want to finish top of the group.

Which outsider can spring a surprise?

There seems to be a real gap between the three Masters favourites and the other five qualified players. After MedvedevRublev and Ruud, Taylor Fritz and Alex De Minaur seem to be the two outsiders best placed to trouble the three favourites. Fritz is in doubtful form, but has already competed at the Masters. That was in 2022 and he made it all the way to the semi-finals. The American is in an open group with Sinner, Medvedev and…de Minaur. The Australian is the only “rookie” of the 2024 edition. The first Australian to qualify for the Masters since Lleyton Hewitt was a finalist in 2004, the 25-year-old is currently in fine form. He is coming off a semi-final appearance in Vienna and a quarter-final appearance at the Rolex Paris Masters. If he knows how to handle the Masters format, where you can lose a match and still continue the competition, the Australian can upset the established order. He’ll start with a big match against Sinner on Sunday at 8.30pm.