A look at ATP Finals groups; Sinner, Alcaraz among top contenders

New Delhi [India], November 9 : World number one tennis star Jannik Sinner, Germany's Alexander Zverev and Spain's world number three sensation Carlos Alcaraz will be among the top contenders at the ATP Finals, the season concluding competition set to start in Turin from Sunday.
Last year's singles champion and Serbian tennis legend, Novak Djokovic, will not be competing in the tournament due to an injury, which also caused him to withdraw from the Paris Masters competition. The seven-time champion in the ATP Finals, Djokovic holds a great 37-9 win-loss record this year, with a Paris Olympics gold medal win as a highlight. He is on a chase of his 100th tour-level title.
Sinner's performance in 2024 includes highlights like the Australian Open and US Open wins, two of four of the sport's biggest events. On the other hand, Alcaraz sits with other two Grand Slams, the French Open and Wimbledon in his cabinet along with a Paris Olympics silver medal.
Coming to the doubles competition, the Indian-Australian duo of Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden, who secured the Australian Open this year, will be seeking to close the season with a strong show in Turin.
The season-ending competition will witness top-eight single players and double teams. The qualification for this tournament is determined by points won throughout ATP events held in a calendar year.
Ebden, who bagged the gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics along with John Peers, and Rohan Bopanna is seeded sixth and a part of the the Bob Bryan Group, as per Olympics.com.
The Indian-Australian duo will kickstart their campaign against Italy's Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori on Monday. Kevin Krawietz-Tim Puetz and Marcelo Arevalo-Mate Pavic form other two teams in the Bob Bryan Group.
Wesley Koolhof-Nikola Mektic, Harri Heliovaara-Henry Patten, Marcel Granollers-Horacio Zeballos and Max Purcell-Jordan Thompson together form the Mike Bryan Group.
The doubles groups are named after American doubles stars Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, two of the most successful doubles tennis players in history who also bagged men's doubles gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics.
This will mark Bopanna's fifth appearance in the ATP Finals after 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2023. In 2012 and 2015, he appeared alongside Mahesh Bhupathi and Romania's Florin Mergea in the finals, but lost.
Last time around, Bopana and Ebden reached the semi-finals. Bopanna will be aiming to end India's ATP Finals title drought.
Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, the men's doubles winner from last year, will not be defending their title as they have parted ways back in September.
-ATP Finals 2024: Players, teams and groups
*Ilie Nastase Group
Jannik Sinner
Daniil Medvedev
Taylor Fritz
Alex de Minaur
*John Newcombe Group
Alexander Zverev
Carlos Alcaraz
Casper Ruud
Andrey Rublev
ATP Finals 2024 doubles groups
*Bob Bryan Group
Marcelo Arevalo/Mate Pavic
Simone Bolelli/Andrea Vavassori
Rohan Bopanna/Matthew Ebden
Kevin Krawietz/Tim Puetz
*Mike Bryan Group
Marcel Granollers/Horacio Zeballos
Wesley Koolhof/Nikola Mektic
Max Purcell/Jordan Thompson
Harri Heliovaara/Henry Patten.