TURIN, Italy (AP) 鈥� and are poised to add another entry into their rapidly developing rivalry when the ATP Finals open on Sunday for the first time in 23 years.
The top-ranked Sinner and No. 3 Alcaraz evenly split the year鈥檚 Grand Slam titles between them with two apiece and it would be fitting if the pair meet again in Turin.
Sinner and Alcaraz were placed in different groups in Thursday's draw.
The Ilie Nastase Group features Sinner, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur.
The John Newcombe Group features Alexander Zverev, Alcaraz, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev.
After the round-robin stage, the top two finishers in each group advance to the semifinals.
from last week鈥檚 Paris Masters due to a virus and showed up early in Turin for training.
鈥淭his is for me the main event of the end of the year,鈥� Sinner said.
The big name missing is that of defending champion Novak Djokovic, who due to an unspecified injury.
Djokovic, Federer and Nadal absent
Not since 2001 has the finals been held without at least one of Djokovic, Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal. This season also was the without at least one Grand Slam title for a member of that trio.
Djokovic has won the ATP Finals a . He beat in the final last year.
Federer, who , won the event six times after making his debut in 2002; Nadal, after playing in the Davis Cup the week after finals, was the runner-up twice at the finals but never won it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 strange to not see Novak here, just because of all the success he had,鈥� Zverev said. 鈥淭he first time I won in 2018, you had to beat both or at least two of the three players. I beat Federer in the semis and then I beat Djokovic in the finals. You had to beat those guys to have a chance at the title. So it does feel different.
"But I feel like now with Jannik and Carlos it kind of moved toward the same way, just with new guys. You have to go through them to win big tournaments. It鈥檚 as simple as that. They both won two Grand Slams this year and they鈥檙e the two best players in the world for sure. You have to beat them to win a Slam and I think it鈥檚 going to be the same here as well,鈥� Zverev added.
Decision on Sinner doping still pending
As an Italian, Sinner will be the in Turin.
It鈥檚 the first time Sinner is playing at home since it was announced before his U.S. Open title that he tested positive in two separate drug tests this year.
A decision to clear Sinner of wrongdoing was by the World Anti-Doping Agency in September and the Switzerland-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) is expected to make a final ruling on the case early next year.
Asked by The Associated Press if a date had been set for a hearing at CAS or if there has been any update on the case, Sinner responded: "No, we don鈥檛 know nothing yet. Look, I鈥檝e been in this position three times now already, so it鈥檚 not that great a place to be. But it always came out very positively so I鈥檓 very positive.鈥�
Alcaraz is 3-0 vs Sinner this year
Sinner opened this year by winning the Australian Open to become the first Italian man to win a Grand Slam singles title in nearly a half-century 鈥� since Adriano Panatta raised the French Open trophy in 1976.
Alcaraz then claimed the French Open and Wimbledon titles to raise his career total to four Grand Slams.
Sinner responded by winning the U.S. Open.
official meetings with Sinner this year and holds a 6-4 advantage in their career head-to-head rivalry. Last month, Sinner beat Alcaraz in the .
Zverev seeks third title
The only two players in the field to have won the finals are Zverev and Medvedev.
Zverev won in London in 2018 and in Turin in 2021; Medvedev triumphed in 2020, the final year the event was held in London.
Zverev enters in solid form coming off a title at the and leapfrogged Alcaraz into No. 2 in the rankings this week.
Fritz is looking to add another big result after his maiden Grand Slam final at the U.S. Open; Ruud was a finalist in 2022; De Minaur is making his tournament debut; and Rublev is making his fifth straight appearance.
Winner gets $4.8 million
If a player wins all five of his matches en route to the trophy, he will earn $4.8 million 鈥� the largest winner鈥檚 prize on the men鈥檚 tour.
That鈥檚 significantly more than what Sinner and Alcaraz earned for their victories at the U.S. Open ($3.6 million) and Wimbledon (2.7 million pounds or $3.45 million) this year.
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AP tennis:
Andrew Dampf, The Associated Press
