Scouting Report: Djokovic & Alcaraz Renew Rivalry; Nadal Returns In 2024

After Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz finished the 2023 ATP Tour season as No. 1 and No. 2 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, respectively, the new rivals will continue to battle it out at the top of the men's game in 2024. Also vying for the top spot will be Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner, who separated themselves from the rest of the chasing pack last season.

Rafael Nadal is set for his long-awaited return to competition, with the Spaniard having been absent due to injury since the 2023 Australian Open.

ATPTour.com looks at 10 things to watch during the 2024 season. 

1) Djokovic Seeks To Maintain Dominance: Djokovic posted a 56-7 record last season, winning three Grand Slam championships and two ATP Masters 1000 trophies before clinching ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by Pepperstone honours early in his Nitto ATP Finals title run. The Serbian, who eclipsed 400 total weeks at No. 1 in late 2023, will seek a record-extending ninth year-end No. 1 finish in 2024.

After finishing one set shy of the Grand Slam — winning all four majors in the same year — Djokovic set himself a lofty goal for the upcoming season: to win all four Slams, along with Olympic gold in Paris.

2) Can Alcaraz Reclaim No. 1? Alcaraz won a Grand Slam title for the second consecutive year in 2023, following his 2022 US Open triumph with a Wimbledon crown. After finishing atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in 2022, he was beaten out by Djokovic for that honour but still comfortably finished inside the top two for the second year running.

In his bid to reclaim the top spot, the Spaniard will be eager to make a strong start to the new year after missing out on the early part of the 2023 season with injury.

3) Rafa Returns: Nadal endured a long comeback road after struggling with an injury to his iliopsoas. But after navigating a difficult time off the court, the Spaniard is set to return to competitive action in Brisbane to kick off the 2024 season.

Nadal won four titles in 2022 — including at the Australian Open and Roland Garros — but was plagued by injuries in the second half of the season. While he is tempering expectations for his return, history has shown that a healthy Nadal can never be counted out at any event. The lefty is a 92-time tour-level titlist and has spent 209 weeks at World No. 1.

4) Sinner Bids To Build On Strong Finish: Alongside Djokovic — whom he beat twice in singles in the final weeks of the season — Sinner was the hottest player on the ATP Tour at the tail end of 2023. The Italian reached the Nitto ATP Finals title round on home soil and later led Italy to Davis Cup glory.

That success earned Sinner his first Top 5 finish at World No. 4, with a considerable gap of nearly 1,685 Pepperstone ATP Rankings points between him and Andrey Rublev at No. 5. How much higher can Sinner climb in 2024?

5) Medvedev Moving Up: Medvedev debuted at World No. 1 in 2022, but finished that season as World No. 7. Following a challenging season by his lofty standards, Medvedev moved back toward the top of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in 2023, finishing at No. 3.

Among his five 2023 titles were two at the ATP Masters 1000 level, including his first tour-level crown on clay in Rome. While he did not win a title in the second half of the season, he reached the US Open final and two additional finals after that, proving his level was back near his best. Securely positioned at World No. 3, Medvedev will bid to maintain that year-round consistency and add a few more big titles to his tally in 2024.

6) Jeddah Competitors Ready To Build On Success: Hamad Medjedovic, champion in the first Jeddah edition of the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by NEOM, was seeded sixth at the eight-man event but enters 2023 behind the momentum of his title run. While the Serbian is still seeking his Top 100 breakthrough, his Jeddah final opponent, Arthur Fils, finished a breakout season at a career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking of No. 36.

Exciting changes coming in 2024 🤩

The Next Gen ATP Brand will undergo an expansion from 2024, incorporating the @nextgenfinals, Next Gen Top 350 players, and the Next Gen Accelerator Programme under its umbrella.

Read more 👇

— ATP Tour (@atptour) December 20, 2023

7) Turin Competitors Seek Return Trip: Apart from the top four players mentioned earlier, four more men will bid to return to the Nitto ATP Finals in 2024 — Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev and Holger Rune.  

Rublev finished 2023 at a career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking of No. 5, while Tsitsipas and Rune persevered through mid-season slumps to qualify for Turin. Zverev finished at No. 7 in a strong comeback season after suffering a gruesome ankle injury at Roland Garros in 2022.

8) Ruud, Fritz, Felix Seek Turin Returns: Casper Ruud reached the Nitto ATP Finals match in 2022, while Taylor Fritz made the semis in his debut at the season finale. Both men narrowly missed the Turin cut in 2023, finishing at No. 11 and No. 10, respectively, behind Hubert Hurkacz in the year-end Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

All three players will begin their season at the second edition of the United Cup. In 2023, Fritz helped lead Team United States to the trophy.

Another 2024 United Cup competitor, Felix Auger-Aliassime, endured a down year by his standards in 2023 and will be eager to improve upon his year-end status as World No. 29. The Canadian gained momentum at the end of the year by successfully defending the Basel title. 

9) Old Guard Remains A Threat: Veterans like Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Dominic Thiem, Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet all enjoyed notable moments in 2023. There were final runs for Murray (Doha), Wawrinka (Umag) and Thiem (Kitzbuehel), along with title triumphs for Monfils (Stockholm) and Gasquet (Auckland). Can these fan favourites create more magic in 2024? 

10) Doubles Preview: Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek earned Year-End ATP Doubles No. 1 presented by Pepperstone honours for the first time in 2023, winning a race of razor-thin margins that was decided on the final day of the ATP Tour season in Turin. While the Croatian-American duo owns the top spot, the hottest team at the close of the season was Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, who won the US Open for the third straight time and the Nitto ATP Finals crown for the second year running in a red-hot finish to the year.