Alcaraz and Sinner Made the Final, But Djokovic Walked Away With the Biggest Win of All — The Reason Will Shock Fans.NN

Novak Djokovic is not in action at the ATP Finals this week, but the 24-time Grand Slam champion still keeps winning. Despite his absence from the year-end tournament, results in Turin have helped the Serb out ahead of the upcoming 2026 season, especially for the Australian Open.

Djokovic finished his year at the Hellenic Championship in Athens, winning the title there for his 101st ATP trophy. After that, he announced his withdrawal from the ATP Finals, citing an injury. At the time, ranked World No. 4, he was at risk of losing the position if players below him reached the final of the event.

Thankfully for him, that has not turned out to be the case. World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz have stormed into the finals in Turin, assuring a No. 4 finish for Djokovic this year. That means he is far more likely to be seeded No. 4 at the Australian Open, meaning he will have his own quarter at the Major.

This becomes important as it would ensure he avoids Sinner or Alcaraz at least until the semifinals. The duo have been the biggest thorn to Djokovic’s Grand Slam chances in recent times, preventing him from winning a 25th Grand Slam and retiring as the player with the most Majors in history. Right now, he is tied with Margaret Court, despite the fact that some of the Aussie’s wins came before the Open Era.

In 2024 and 2025, Sinner-Alcaraz have swept the four Grand Slams twice, taking all eight. They have added four each to their tally, winning two apiece in both years. Djokovic, meanwhile, exited in the semifinals of all Slams this year, losing to Alcaraz or Sinner in three of them.

What happened to the players ranked below Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals?

Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz came into the ATP Finals ranked No. 5 and No. 6 in the world, but both ended up losing in the group stage. Shelton lost all three of his group matches, while Fritz managed only one win.

On the other hand, the World No. 7 and World No. 8 — Alex de Minaur and Felix Auger-Aliassime, turned out to be the closest threats to Novak Djokovic. Auger-Aliassime won two group stage matches, taking his tally to 4,245 points. Had he reached the semifinals, he would have overtaken the Serb for World No. 4. However, he fell to Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets. De Minaur, meanwhile, won one group match, and then lost to Jannik Sinner in the semifinals.

The World No. 9, Lorenzo Musetti, came into the ATP Finals as the first alternate following Djokovic’s withdrawal, and left the tournament in the group stage with one win to his name.

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