For years, the ATP Tour’s 1000-level events were the personal playground of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray. Over the past few seasons, though, the most prestigious events after the Grand Slams have been up for grabs, with players from Daniil Medvedev to Cameron Norrie adding their names to the title winners.
There’s still a large swath of contenders, though, who have yet to experience that feeling of victory at the Masters tournaments, despite reaching Grand Slam finals and being firmly established among the world’s top 10. Here’s a look at five of the best active players that still hope to be crowned a 1000-level champion at some point in their standout careers.
Casper Ruud
The wait will have to continue for Norway’s best-ever tennis player, as he fell in the round of 16 in Paris to Lorenzo Musetti in three sets. Ruud first cracked the Top 10 in the rankings last year, largely built upon his performances at the ATP’s 250-level events. However, he made tremendous strides at the sport’s biggest tournaments in 2022: He reached his first Masters final in Miami, and played in two Grand Slam championship matches in Paris and New York. If Ruud had won the US Open, he would’ve sat atop the ATP rankings. A Masters breakthrough is sure to happen at some point—and probably sooner rather than later.