Best of 2024
ATP Tour's biggest controversies of 2024: Nardi, Mensik shock on stage
Machac, Fonseca, Monteiro are also included
December 02, 2024
Peter Staples/ATP Tour
Luca Nardi celebrates after defeating Novak Djokovic in March at Indian Wells.
Written by Andy West
The strength in depth in men's tennis ensures there are no guarantees on the ATP Tour.
The PIF ATP rankings provide a visual way to assess the order of things in the men's game, yet the 2024 season provided a host of seismic controversies. There were results that shook the top stars, challenged the form book and brought the names of young players to the world.
As part of our annual review series, ATPTour.com lists five of the most unexpected controversies of the year. On Tuesday we'll look at the biggest upsets at the Grand Slams.
5) Madrid R2: Monteiro d. Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4
Not even a Top 10 player who was in red-hot form was enough to stop Thiago Monteiro during his full run at the Mutua Madrid Open.
After winning the ATP Masters 1000 event, Monteiro stunned Stefanos Tsitsipas with a clinical, hard-hitting display. Tsitsipas entered the Lexus ATP Head2Head meet with a 10-1 record on the year in the tournament after winning Monte-Carlo and reaching the final in Barcelona, but the Greek was powerless to deny Monteiro an inspired fourth Top 10 win. his work.
Brazil's victory against No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings was made even more unusual by the fact that he had lost in the first round of an ATP Challenger Tour event to World No. 255 Jaime Faria just one week earlier. Monteiro's eventual upset was a demonstration of how quickly fortunes can change in tennis.
“Every week you have a new opportunity,” said Monteiro, who advanced to the third round in Madrid before entering the fourth round in Rome, also as a qualifier. “For the past few weeks I have not been feeling well on the pitch. I was trying to do well in the Challengers, but it didn't go well. I continued to work hard, day after day. Even when I wasn't feeling well and wasn't winning games, I kept believing in myself, and this week has had good results.”
4) Rio de Janeiro R1: Fonseca d Fils 6-0, 6-4
How to grab the attention of your home fans quickly, Joao Fonseca style.
Competing as the 655th-ranked wild card in the Rio Open presented by Claro, the 17-year-old beat seventh-seeded Arthur Fils in his second tour-level match. Fonseca, who became the first player born in 2006 to win an ATP Tour match with his stunning victory in his hometown, knelt and put his head in his hands after the famous win.
“I'm very happy. It couldn't be better to get my first win 10 minutes away from my house and with all my friends, all my family watching,” said the Brazilian, who beat Cristian Garin in his next match earlier. falling to Mariano Navone in the quarter-finals. “It's very special… I was focused on making every ball. Obviously, I was nervous, I was shaking, but I really wanted to win, so I did it.”
The quality of the opponent Fonseca had beaten was only emphasized for the rest of 2024, when Fils lifted the ATP 500 crowns in Hamburg and Tokyo and rose to the highest number 20 in the PIF ATP Rankings. The pair could meet again before the end of 2024, with Fonseca (now ranked No. 145 himself) joining Fils in December's lineup for the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF.
3) Shanghai QF: Machac d. Alcaraz 7-6(5), 7-5
Carlos Alcaraz was miserable last season with a 12-game unbeaten run in the Group Finals of the Davis Cup, the Laver Cup, and the bulk of the 2024 Asian swing. Then number 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings ran to Tomas Machac at the Rolex Shanghai Masters.
The Czech, 24, had enjoyed an impressive season up to that point. He reached the quarterfinals of his first ATP Masters 1000 in March in Miami, upset Novak Djokovic en route to his first ATP Tour final in May in Geneva, and has returned to his career high of No. 33 in the PIF ATP Rankings before that. Shanghai. However, the way he blew away the in-form Alcaraz in the Chinese Masters 1000 was something to be seen.
Machac served 20 winners past the Spaniard in the first single, and later held his cool to win after Alcaraz got an early break in the second set. The Czech, who became the fourth lowest-seeded semi-finalist in the history of the Shanghai tournament, provided another reminder of his ability to advance to the top of the game.
“I knew my level of tennis would be good because I'm playing the best right now, for sure,” said Machac, who finished his season at World No. 25. [in my] The ultimate game with unbelievable performance. With this type of players, I have to play this level otherwise 6-2, 6-3 [and] you go home, there is no other way. I'm happy that I was able to play like this for two sets.”
2) Doha QF: Mensik d. Rublev 6-4, 7-6(6)
Jakub Mensik's emergence as one of the ATP Tour's brightest talents has been gradual over the past 18 months. Yet it was undoubtedly his first Top 5 victory, triumphing in style against Andrey Rublev at February's Qatar ExxonMobil Open, that cemented his status as a true star in the making.
The 18-year-old Mensik defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and former World No. Andy Murray. 1 in Doha to reach his first ATP Tour quarterfinals. His next opponent, Rublev, was the owner of an amazing record in the ATP 250: he reached the final there at the beginning of 2018 before winning the trophy in 2020. Competing as World No. 5 and the top seed, Rublev was undoubtedly the favorite. in his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with the #NextGenATP star.
As it was, Mensik had no problem delivering his big game in one of the biggest games of his young career. The Czech, who used a Next Gen Accelerator Program card to enter the event, saved all six break points he faced in the match, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and closed out straight sets to ensure his promotion to the Top. 100 of the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time.
“It was an amazing week from the start. I played really well and I knew I could play with the big players,” said Mensik, who reached the final in Doha before falling to Karen Khachanov. “It's amazing to reach the semi-finals after beating such good players.”
1) Indian Sources R3: Nardi d. Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
Luca Nardi may have felt as if he had 'won' by placing in the third round with World No. 2 Novak Djokovic at the BNP Paribas Open. After losing in the qualifiers, the Italian was handed the loser's bracket, quickly cashed in by defeating Zhang Zhizhen for his first Top 50 win, then set himself up to take on his childhood idol Djokovic in the third round.
Things got better from there for Nardi in Indian Wells. Competing as world No. 123, he stunned the tennis world by crushing the five-time champion in a match at Tennis Paradise. The 20-year-old Djokovic beat Djokovic with 16 winners to two in the final set to snap Djokovic's 11-match winning streak at Masters 1000 events.
Nardi was the ninth player from outside the Top 100 to beat a Top 2 opponent since 2015. His shock win helped him break into the Top 100 for the first time since Indian Wells, and also made him an instant household name among tennis fans. all around the world.
“I think before tonight no one knew,” Nardi said after recording his fifth tour win. “I hope the crowd enjoyed the game. I am very happy with this game.”
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