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• Swiatek keeps Poland in fight for place in Billie Jean King Cup final

  Iga Swiatek kept Poland's hopes of reaching the Billie Jean King Cup Final alive, coming from behind to beat Jasmine Paolini in their singles match.

  The world number two fought back to claim a thrilling 3-6 6-4 6-4 victory in two hours and 36 minutes to level the semi-final tie after Lucia Bronzetti beat Magda Linette in straight sets in the opening match of the round.

  Swiatek and Paolini met earlier this year in the final of the French Open, where the Pole brushed the Italian aside in straight sets to clinch a third consecutive crown at Roland Garros, but she faced a much tougher test on Monday.

  Both players were unbeaten in Malaga coming into this match, and it looked like Paolini could cause an upset after claiming her first-ever set against Swiatek.

  However, Swiatek dug deep to get the win and force the tie to go to doubles, which she will once again play, with Magdalena Frech unable to participate.

• Raducanu raring to go in 2025 as she takes pride in 'unheard of' achievement

  Emma Raducanu is already excited to get going in 2025 after reflecting positively on the past 12 months.

  The 22-year-old impressed for Great Britain in their Billie Jean King Cup victories over Germany and Canada last week.

  Raducanu has struggled with regular injury issues since her remarkable 2021 US Open triumph, but she believes some perspective is needed.

  "My assessment is, I think sometimes I need reminding," she told the WTA's official website of her 2024 campaign. 

  "I'm top 60 in the world and I have played less than 15 events, which is pretty unheard of, in a way.

  "I have to pat myself on the back for that. I know I'm a dangerous player. I know no-one wants to pull my name in the draw. 

  "I take pride in that, and I'm looking forward to hopefully staying on court longer next year."

  Raducanu, ranked number 58 in the world, is returning to action in Malaga after two months out with a foot injury.

  She will have a part to play when Britain take on Slovenia in Wednesday's semi-finals as she looks to extend her season further.

  And a bullish Raducanu intends to work hard on the court heading into the New Year, with the Australian Open fast approaching.

  "I think traditionally you'd probably have a bit of a break and take a holiday or something," Raducanu said. 

  "But I feel like I have had four, five weeks off tennis, and I don't really need any more time off.

  "If anything, I'm excited and just itching to get on the practice court, and of course seeing some of my performances this week, it just incentivises me to do more work.

  "I'm really pleased with how I've fought and how I'm faring up against these top girls. I feel like I'm in a pretty good spot with my tennis right now."

• Eight titles, two grand slams and 70 match wins: Sinner's spectacular 2024

  As far as seasons go, you won't find many better than Jannik Sinner's 2024 campaign.

  The 23-year-old had long been assured of his place at the top of the ATP rankings heading into 2025, but to further cement his dominance of the men's circuit, Sinner dominated the ATP Finals in Turin last week.

  Sinner's 6-4 6-4 defeat of Taylor Fritz ensured he became the first ATP Finals champion since Ivan Lendl in 1986 to win the tournament without dropping a single set.

  He became the seventh player to win the event on home soil, and the first Italian champion, as he made it eight titles for the year, including the Australian Open and US Open.

  Here, we recap Sinner's brilliant year using Opta's treasure trove of data.

  Breakout major success

  It almost seems strange to think Sinner began 2024 without a grand slam title to his name. That soon changed at the Australian Open, though, as he defeated Daniil Medvedev in a classic, five-set final.

  Sinner did things the hard way at Melbourne Park, also overcoming Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals and Novak Djokovic in the last four. 

  At the age of 22 years and 165 days, he became the youngest player to ever achieve successive wins over ATP top-five opponents in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final of a grand slam, surpassing Michael Stich, who did so at the age of 22 years and 262 days at Wimbledon 1991.

  That triumph also made him only the third Italian man to win a grand slam, after French Open champions Nicola Pietrangeli (1959 and 1960) and Adriano Panatta (1976).

  By beating Djokovic, Sinner became the first Italian to defeat the ATP's top-ranked player at a major, with Italians previously going 0-23 in such matches since the ATP Rankings were first published in 1973.

  Sinner would also record a final victory over Djokovic at the Shanghai Masters later in the year, becoming the first player on record to not face a single break point in back-to-back tour-level meetings with the Serbian.

   

  Slam consistency

  Of course, Sinner later followed up his Australian Open triumph by clinching the US Open crown, downing home favourite Fritz in the Flushing Meadows final.

  Those major wins were two of seven triumphs for Sinner at hard-court events this year, making him just the fifth player to win seven or more finals on the surface in a year, after Andre Agassi (1995), Pete Sampras (1996), Roger Federer (2004-06) and Djokovic (2015).

  But perhaps his remarkable consistency across all four grand slams is what stands out most.

  Sinner reached at least the quarter-finals at each of 2024's majors, losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open semi-finals and Medvedev in the last eight at Wimbledon.

  At 23 years and 17 days, he became the third-youngest man in the Open Era to reach the quarter-finals at all four slams in a single season, after Sampras in 1993 (22 years and 18 days) and Rafael Nadal in 2008 (22 years and 83 days).

  Sinner won 23 matches overall at grand slams this year, with no other player on the ATP Tour bringing up 20 (Alcaraz managed 19).

   

  Top of the world

  Following his defeat to Djokovic in the showpiece match at the 2023 ATP Finals, Sinner sat fourth in the ATP Rankings 12 months ago.

  He had already clinched top spot for 2024 as early as October 15, when he beat Djokovic in straight sets in the Shanghai Open final. 

  Since changes were made to the distribution of ranking points in 2009, only two players have ever sewn up top spot earlier – Djokovic in 2015 (September 14) and Nadal in 2010 (September 20).

  No Italian had previously topped the ATP Rankings, and few could deny Sinner was a deserving recipient of the accolade. His 70 match wins were the most of any player on the ATP Tour in 2024, while his 92.1% win rate is the best by any player since 2015, when Djokovic won 93.2% of his contests. 

   

  Sinner did not let the pressure of being number one affect him, either, going 37-3 since first taking top spot. His 92.5% win rate is the best by any male world number one by some distance, dwarfing Bjorn Borg's 80.4%.

  With Djokovic turning 38 next year, most would agree Sinner's breakout season has been good for men's tennis, teeing up what could be a long period of dominance by the Italian and his rival Alcaraz.

  His star should continue to rise in 2025.