Italian has enjoyed a sublime 2024 on tour but Wada’s appeal after he was cleared over two positive doping tests looms ahead

At the end of the 2023 tennis season, as Jannik Sinner had elevated his game to new heights and his Italy team to their first Davis Cup title in 46 years, there was one comparison to note. Thirteen years earlier, Novak Djokovic had found his way after a difficult period by winning the Davis Cup, a victory that provided a platform for one of the greatest tennis seasons in 2011 and the start of his decade-plus reign.

Sinner’s first triumph for Italy at the Davis Cup has similarly preceded a staggering breakout season and, one year on, he ends 2024 as by far the best and most consistent tennis player in the world.