Recently crowned in Australia for the second time, third in a major, Jannik Sinner responds with his characteristic calm to the journalists, who behind that polite speech and that good boy face, freckles and red curls, guess a potential white-collar tyrant . The reincarnation of the great dominator of all time. A Djokovic 2.0. The art of rocking your opponent from one side to the other. “He is very similar to Novak when he was in his prime. They barely miss and they make you feel like you have to hit extra all the time to win a rally against them. “They are constantly on the ball, they don’t give you space or time,” Alexander Zverev describes with resignation, defeated in the final episode of the tournament (6-3, 7-6(4) and 6-3, in 2h 42m) and for the third time. occasion at the end of a major. He tries and tries while those who leave give a good account of him and his generation, and those who have entered rub their hands because today belongs to them.
A failed batch for the German, with no more consolation than a few crumbs – a bite for Daniil Medvedev and another for the retired Dominic Thiem – and second-class prizes. Zverev has no shortage of titles, up to 23; However, he curses now because after suffering the relentlessness of the three giants he has encountered two other young phenomena who are marking ground and distancing themselves. Alcaraz (21 years old) has won four major titles and Sinner (23) has won one less, although the Italian’s dominance continues to expand and he stands out as the main reference. He has ruled inexorably since June and has started the new year in the same way he sealed the previous one: triumphing. Three Grand Slams from January to January and an incomparable performance on hard courts, the territory in which the hierarchy of the circuit is fundamentally decided. That of San Candido does not relax, firm since the dust rose.
Since the double positive for clostebol was revealed in August, the Italian has done nothing but win and win, oblivious to all circumstances and rivals. From there, a determined pilgrimage towards success and one victory after another; specifically, blackjack on the asphalt, where his heartbreaking proposal does the most damage so far. “There he is the best, by far,” says John McEnroe, Eurosport analyst. “He completely surpassed me, from the back of the court he emptied me. He has moved better than me, he has hit the forehand and the backhand better than me, he has subtracted better than me… He has been better in everything, except the serve,” admits the German, performed in 2020 by Dominic Thiem in New York, the last year by Alcaraz at Roland Garros and now by Sinner in Melbourne, the framework of an exhibition. Beyond the two sets conceded along the way and a bird and some cramps that he managed to tame, the king of the circuit continues to stand out based on qualitative leaps.
Sinner conceives sport and competition as an exercise in perseverance, tough minds and a firm arm, and acts accordingly. His tennis does not exude the genius of Alcaraz, but its evolution has always maintained a sustained pace, with hardly any oscillations, and the predominant feeling is that if the Court of Arbitration for Sports (TAD) does not abruptly intercede with a withering resolution In April, he won’t budge. “This topic is difficult, I’m not thinking about it. Right now I just got off another amazing trip in Australia, so I just want to enjoy this moment. We’ll see what happens at the hearing. [en Lausana]; At the moment we only know the dates [16 y 17]. If I knew I was guilty, I wouldn’t play like that, and that’s it,” says the champion, a serene and immutable guy, convinced and already converted into the most prestigious Italian tennis player of all time, above Nicola Pietrangelli.
“Mentally he is very strong”
A fervent defender of method and routine, of repetition in all its expression, he dissociated himself three years ago from Ricardo Piatti, the coach who propelled him towards the elite, and has risen under the guidance of Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi. The first will leave the team at the end of the year and the renewal continues. To make the physical leap he hired Marco Panichi (coach) and Ulises Badio (physio), two former members of Djokovic, and since he strengthened his muscles and motor he competes at cruising speed. In 2024 he only lost six games and won eight trophies, but his permanent appetite pushes him to grow without interruptions. Undeniable on hard court, he imposes more screw blows to get closer to the ideal he intends to achieve: asphalt, dirt, grass. “I want to be a complete player and not just on one surface, but on all of them. Last year was not a bad season on sand and I can do better on grass,” he says; “I’m still young and I can make adjustments.”
His abrasive and cerebral tennis nods to Djokovic’s golden years, although his forehand and serve are more forceful. “Obviously, we have some similarities in terms of style, but I still think that, at his best, Novak is almost unbeatable. “I have always admired him and I have tried to learn from him, how he handles the important points and how he competes under pressure,” says Sinner, wearing sneakers that pay homage to the basketball player Kobe Bryant, who died five years ago in a helicopter accident, a January 26, and friend of Nole himself; “Similarities? Have a fairly clean ball when hitting from the baseline, good mobility and understand a little where your rivals can go. My goal is to continue improving in certain areas, so we are going to work on that.”
In line with the chosen ones, Sinner also has the exclusive virtue of triggering his performance when the script requires it most. “He played the best game of the entire tournament,” says Vagnozzi; “Mentally he is very strong. When you ask him for something, he picks it up pretty quickly. We don’t know what will happen in the future, but, of course, Jannik can reach the highest level, and when we talk about that we talk about Djokovic, Nadal and Federer.” In his day, it was Zverev who aimed to become the heir of the three totems, but with the passage of time and despite his unquestionable quality, his name began to be associated with the stigma of a frustrated tennis player: “I don’t want to be the best of the history that did not win a Grand Slam.” Yes, he is, after this last defeat, a member of the club of those who lost their first three grand finals, after Andre Agassi, Goran Ivanisevic, Andy Murray, Thiem and Casper Ruud.
Today, Sinner commands the list with an iron fist—he has been in office for 36 weeks now—and Zverev sees it at 3,695 points; Alcaraz, third, is at a whopping 4,820. Lost in the quarterfinals by Djokovic, the Spaniard has the responsibility of defending a large bag of points between now and the summer; On the other hand, the transalpine player is presented with a magnificent opportunity to add and retain what he obtained last year in Miami, where he triumphed, which will be his main task in the medium term. During the last half year he has inscribed his name in the records of Cincinnati, US Open, Shanghai, the Masters Cup, the Davis Cup and now, again, he repeats at the Australian Open and reaffirms himself: he, the boy who defends his innocence and awaits a verdict, he finds no better spiritual refuge than that of the happy habit of raising his arms and saying out loud: if the contrary is not proven, there is Sinner for a while.
