Two men who could win their first Grand Slam next year 

In 2023, we found out that despite his immeasurable talent, Novak Djokovic is indeed beatable. The Serb lost just once at Grand Slams in 2023, his only defeat coming in the final at Wimbledon, where, much to the amazement of everyone in attendance and the millions watching around the world, he was beaten by Carlos Alcaraz in the final.

But for that, Djokovic would have headed to the US Open needing victory to become the first man since Rod Laver to complete the calendar-year Grand Slam, just as he did in 2021, when Daniil Medvedev stopped him in the final. 

It is the third time he’s won three slams in a year, following on from 2021 and 2011, when he lost to Roger Federer in the semi-finals at the French Open. 

With Alcaraz claiming his second major – his first being last year’s US Open – we’ve been inspired by the 20-year-old to take a look at two men who could claim their first major title in 2024. 

Nick Kyrgios at home?

Many had earmarked the maverick Nick Kyrgios as a contender to have a career year in 2023. His run to the Wimbledon final greatly enhanced his popularity, with a plethora of media reporting on his skills. Each year, Wimbledon is the focal point of the entire sporting world in summer. This importance can be felt through other media as well. For example, Netflix has released the critically-acclaimed documentary, Break Point, following the tennis calendar, while online casinos have created games such as Centre Court, which is loosely based around the All-England Club extravaganza, and portals like bonusfinder.com prove that the game is enjoying success and is available on numerous providers. 

Following his run to the final at the All England Club and to the quarters in New York, the next logical step was a maiden major triumph. Unfortunately, however, that hasn’t come to pass. 

The first major of 2024 will be the Australian Open, and with a boisterous Aussie crowd cheering him on, it would be impossible to rule him out. If he’s to succeed, however, he’ll need to have more luck than he did this year. Kyrgios missed almost the entire year through injury, withdrawing from all four majors. We wouldn’t be surprised if he returned with a bang next winter. 

Stefanos Tsitsipas, ready to impress

Stefanos Tsitsipas is the finest tennis player that Greece has ever produced. GreekReporter.com wrote back in 2021 that their 25-year-old star had finally cracked the ATP rankings, where he became the third-best player in the world behind GOAT contenders Djokovic and Nadal. That came off the back of his first-ever Grand Slam final, when he lost to Djokovic at the French Open, having won the first two sets. 

His lack of experience allowed Djokovic back into the contest that day and it took him a long time to recover from that defeat. It would take another two years before he would reach another major final, suffering a number of humbling losses along the way. However, last winter in Australia, he was back. Unfortunately, so was Djokovic. 

The 36-year-old star proved to the world that he still had plenty left in the tank when he claimed his 10th Australian Open victory in straight sets, with TheGuardian.com calling it the biggest victory of his career. But now, following two defeats to Djokovic, Tsitsipas is primed and ready to step into the limelight. Expect him to impress on the hard courts in Melbourne and New York City, and don’t be surprised to see him on the top step of the podium before 2024 is over.