ATP Player News
Ivanisevic on Sampras: how a rivalry reshaped a career
Ivanisevic: ‘Sampras. That man destroyed a lot of my life’ After 6-12 rivalry, 1998 final. and 1994.
Goran Ivanisevic has spoken frankly about the toll his rivalry with Pete Sampras took on him, framing a long span of matches as a pivotal force in his career. Between 1990 and 1999 the pair met 18 times; Ivanisevic finished 6-12 overall, winning five of his first seven encounters before losing 10 of the last 11.
Several of those defeats came on the biggest stage. Ivanisevic lost to Sampras at Wimbledon three times: a straight-set final in 1994, a five-set semi-final in 1995 and a five-set final in 1998. He also fell to Sampras in a four-set 1996 US Open semi-final.
On the personal impact, Ivanisevic was blunt.
“Sampras. That man destroyed a lot of my life, dreams, sleep, nerves. I can’t forgive him for that,” he told Sportal.
He has pointed to the 1998 Wimbledon final as the moment his momentum shifted. “My career was solid, but the biggest drop, when everything started going downhill, was in 1998,” he said. “I was in Wimbledon, I played the final, and that final broke me. It crushed me because I truly believe I was the better player, I played better, I should have won, and I didn’t. From that moment on, everything started going downhill.”
Ivanisevic also singled out an earlier loss he still regrets. “’92 [Wimbledon final] because if I had won that final I think everything would have opened up for me,” he said. “It would have given me more strength, more confidence and I would have been a better player. I believe I would have reached another Grand Slam, maybe I would have even made world number one. ’92 still stings, that Wimbledon final, I was the absolute favourite. I had beaten [Ivan] Lendl, [Stefan] Edberg and Sampras and then I lost in five sets to Agassi. No one thought I would lose, not even me, but now, thanks to social media, you can go back and watch those matches, so I watched them back, and honestly, he deserved to win that day. He played better. It was like I didn’t believe in myself that day, I didn’t play the way that I should have at that level. That is the Wimbledon final, it’s like the World Cup final; you have to bring your best; otherwise, the other guy will.”
Ivanisevic eventually claimed his only Grand Slam title at the 2001 Wimbledon Championships as a 125th-ranked wildcard. He later worked extensively as a coach, guiding Novak Djokovic between 2019 and 2024 and helping the Serbian win nine of his 24 Grand Slam titles. He also coached Marin Cilic to the 2014 US Open title and has worked with Elena Rybakina, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Milos Raonic and Tomas Berdych.
ATP
Sinner’s serve numbers reveal a mixed picture despite his dominance
Sinner’s serve stats show elite power, but his first-serve percentage still leaves room for growth.
Jannik Sinner’s serve has long been viewed as a major part of his rise to the top of the men’s game, yet the numbers from the past year tell a more complicated story.
The world No 1 adjusted his service motion shortly before he began establishing himself as a leading force on the ATP Tour, and that weapon stood out again when he defended his Wimbledon title earlier this month.
After losing the US Open final to Carlos Alcaraz last September, Sinner made it clear that he wanted more variety and consistency on serve. His own words at the time showed how deliberate that change was:
“I can say that I’m gonna become a better tennis player and I’m gonna change a couple of things on the serve, just small things, but, they can make big differences and then we see how it goes,” said Sinner. after that defeat against Alcaraz in New York.
“I’m looking forward to play these matches again, something new is now that I’m not No 1 anymore. Now you chase, it’s different.
“Maybe I will lose some matches from now on, but I will try to do some changes, trying to be a bit more unpredictable as a player and because I think that’s what I have to do, trying to become a better tennis player.”
Even with his strong recent run, the ATP Tour figures for the last 12 months show that there is still work to be done in one area. Sinner ranks 35th in first serve percentage at 63.8%, well behind Alexander Zverev, who leads the list at 72.5%.
The Italian, however, is far more dominant once the first serve lands. He leads the tour in service points won at 80.9%, just ahead of Reilly Opelka on 80.8% and Taylor Fritz on 79.7%.
He also tops service games won at 92.9%, underlining how difficult he is to break. Opelka follows on 90.6%, with Ben Shelton third at 90.4% and Alcaraz at 89.9%.
One remaining area is ace production. Sinner is 27th in that category with an average of 8.2 per match, while Opelka leads with 18.5, followed by Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard on 15.1 and Fritz on 14.1.
ATP
Sinner climbs to No 4 on all-time prize money list after Wimbledon defence
Sinner’s Wimbledon defence lifts him to No 4 on the all-time prize money list in 2026.
Jannik Sinner’s successful Wimbledon title defence brought more than another major trophy. It also lifted the Italian to No 4 on the all-time career prize money list.
Before Wimbledon 2026, Sinner sat at No 6, with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer occupying the top three spots and Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz positioned above him. Zverev had recently passed both Alcaraz and Sinner after his French Open run, but the order shifted again once Sinner collected $4,830,756 (£3,600,000) for his latest Wimbledon triumph.
That result leaves Sinner close to becoming only the fourth player to move beyond $70m in career prize money. He has already earned $11,620,364 in 2026 and is on track to break the $20m barrier for the first time in a season.
His rise has been rapid. Last year, he took in $19,120,641, a total that included a record $5,071,000 for winning the ATP Finals undefeated. He finished second on the 2025 earnings list behind Alcaraz, who made $21,354,778, after leading the way in 2024 with $19,735,703.
At the end of the 2024 season, Sinner stood on $37,238,688. Since the start of the 2025 campaign, he has added another $32,347,873. From just $36 in prize money in his first professional year, he now sits on $69,586,561.
Zverev is fifth with $68,392,312, while Alcaraz is on $64,997,598 after not adding to his tally since April because of injury. Andy Murray has fallen to No 7 on $64,687,542, with Daniil Medvedev eighth on $52,192,594. Djokovic, Sinner, Zverev, Alcaraz and Medvedev are the only active players to have passed $40m.
Djokovic remains far ahead in first place with $194,656,816, including $3,000,801 earned in 2026. Nadal is second on $134,946,100 and Federer third on $130,594,339.
ATP French Open Grand Slam
Auger-Aliassime Reaches Career-High No. 4 After Breakthrough at Roland Garros
Auger-Aliassime rises to No. 4 after best Roland Garros run, tying second-highest Canadian rank. Now
Felix Auger-Aliassime moved to a career-high No. 4 in the ATP rankings following his deepest run at Roland Garros, where the 25-year-old reached the quarterfinals for the first time before losing to eventual finalist Flavio Cobolli. The result completed a personal Grand Slam milestone: having previously reached the quarterfinals or better at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, he became the first Canadian man to reach the quarterfinals or better at all four majors in his career.
The rise from No. 6 to No. 4 surpasses his prior best of No. 5 and places him tied for the second-highest-ranked Canadian in ATP or WTA rankings history. The only other Canadians to reach the top four are Milos Raonic and Bianca Andreescu. Raonic went as high as No. 3 in 2016, following his run to the Wimbledon final that year, and Andreescu peaked at No. 4 in 2019 after winning the US Open.
Canadian tennis has seen seven players reach the top 10 in either ATP or WTA history, with official rankings available since 1973 for the ATP and 1975 for the WTA.
Auger-Aliassime still has ground to cover to move higher in the standings. He is 2,865 points behind the current world No. 3, Alexander Zverev, with the rankings showing Zverev at 7,305 points and Auger-Aliassime at 4,440.
The Canadian will shift his focus to grass. He begins his grass-court season this week at the ATP 250 event in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, entering as the No. 1 seed. After a first-round bye he will open against either Hubert Hurkacz or Marton Fucsovics.
The new ranking reflects a season of important progress for Auger-Aliassime and cements his place among the highest-ranked Canadians in modern tennis history.
