Will Sinner, Swiatek, Alcaraz or Sabalenka win again?

Credit to Author: D’Arcy Maine| Date: Sun, 9 Jun 2024 19:52:24 EST

The year’s second major concluded over the weekend with Iga Swiatek taking home her fourth French Open title and Carlos Alcaraz winning his first.

It was another impressive run for the 23-year-old Swiatek, who faced match point in her second-round clash against Naomi Osaka and then never gave up more than six games in a match the rest of the fortnight. On Saturday, she needed just 68 minutes to defeat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-1 and earn the fifth Grand Slam trophy of her career. She now trails only Venus Williams for the most major titles among active players.

Alcaraz, 21, won his third major title with a marathon 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Alexander Zverev on Sunday. He became the youngest man to win three majors since Rafael Nadal did so in 2007 and just the seventh man in history to win a Grand Slam on every surface.

So far in 2024, four different players have claimed major singles trophies, with Aryna Sabalenka and Jannik Sinner having been triumphant at the Australian Open to start the season.

With weeks until the start of Wimbledon, and the Olympics and the US Open not far behind, it’s time to start thinking about the year’s remaining most coveted hardware — and which players have the best chances to claim it. Here’s who should be the top contenders at the two remaining majors and the Olympics:

When: July 1-14

Where: Wimbledon, England

2023 champions: Carlos Alcaraz and Marketa Vondrousova

Top men’s contenders in 2024: Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Taylor Fritz

Before we get any further, let’s start with who isn’t currently on this list: Novak Djokovic, the seven-time champion at the All England Club, will likely miss the tournament as he continues to recover from knee surgery that he underwent last week following his withdrawal ahead of the French Open quarterfinals. If he does somehow make a faster-than-anticipated recovery, he of course would immediately be considered among the favorites.

But, assuming Djokovic isn’t there, Alcaraz — who shocked Djokovic in the final last year — will be one of just two former champions in the men’s field, alongside Andy Murray. While Alcaraz has struggled with a forearm injury this season, he certainly appeared to be back to full health during his championship run in Paris. In 2023, Alcaraz won the lead-in title at Queen’s Club — in just his third grass-court tournament ever — and his form on the surface only got better with every match he played at Wimbledon. It’s hard to think he won’t keep improving on grass this year, too.
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