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Jannik Sinner has the world at his feet

Jannik Sinner is clearly the hottest property around the tennis circuit, says Partab Ramchand – Sinner has won three Grand Slams, risen to the No. 1 ranking and has put the other rising star on the horizon, Carlos Alcaraz, in the shade. There is little doubt that Sinner, only the third man in the Open era to win three straight hard court Slams, is the flavor of the season, Ramchand says, and tells us why

Jannik Sinner has the tennis world at his feet. He is clearly the hottest property around the circuit. And to think that just over a year ago he had not won a Grand Slam title! He was unproven at the highest level though he was regarded as a player of immense potential, perhaps even the next big thing in the sport.

A year later, it can be stated unequivocally that the 23-year-old Italian has lived up to that early promise. Out of five Grand Slams played since then, he has won three, has risen to the No. 1 ranking and has put the other rising star on the horizon, Carlos Alcaraz, in the shade. The Spaniard was leading the charge of the young brigade who would finally end the reign of the Big Three – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Alcaraz is still very much up there, of course, with four Grand Slam titles and a No. 3 ranking, but at the moment there is little doubt that Sinner is the flavour of the season.

The first Italian to win three Grand Slam singles titles, Sinner is a remarkable blend of prodigious talent, unflappable temperament and ethereal court craft. One would expect a Grand Slam final between the two top players in the world to go all the way but such was Sinner’s brilliance at Melbourne Park (Australian Open) that Alexander Zverev, despite playing some of his best tennis during the tournament, had no answer to the all-court game of the Italian who served, stroked and volleyed his way to a win in straight sets. Little wonder than that the German was lavish in his praise saying, “he is in a different universe right now to anyone else, it is like he is prime Novak.”

Sinner is now only the third man in the Open era to win three straight hard court Slams – two at the Australian Open and the US Open last year, joining the ranks of Federer and Djokovic. His overall record on the surface is 80-6 with nine titles, and his current unbeaten run covers 21 matches. However, Sinner still has his critics who say he is not a complete player as he has not won either the French Open or Wimbledon.

Sinner, who reached the semifinals at Roland Garros last year and made it to the last four at Wimbledon in 2023, is aware that he has to do better on both clay and grass. In an honest self-assessment he says, “You have to be a complete player not only on one surface but also on the other two. I am still young and I have time to adjust especially on grass courts because I have never played the juniors. It was new when I arrived on the tour. I will try to overcome the difficulties on surfaces where I can improve. Hopefully I can show that when the season arrives.”

Actually, there is no reason to believe that Sinner cannot excel either on clay or grass for he has an all-court game whose other credits include winning the ATP Tour finals last year besides piloting Italy to Davis Cup triumphs in 2023 and 2024. Sinner is currently over 4000 points ahead of Zverev in the latest ATP rankings, and whereas the German has made it clear that he would not like to be remembered as the best player who never won a Grand Slam, it is getting more and more difficult for him with each passing year. He turns 28 this year and the number of young talented players hungry for success is growing. Zverev’s finishing runner-up three times could end up being his best Grand Slam efforts though he has the consolation of having won the ATP Tour finals twice.   

For Alcaraz, the Australian Open was a bit of a wake-up call. His rivalry with Sinner was expected to be the highlight of the 2025 season, while it could still be that he hasn’t had a promising start. His quarterfinal defeat to Djokovic was rather unexpected given the 16-year gap in their ages and also the fact that the Serb was not exactly at his best thanks to injury problems. Djokovic, in fact, retired after the first set in his semifinal against Zverev. Alcaraz will have to play much better if he hopes to win more majors and regain his No. 1 ranking, especially considering the way Sinner is playing.

As for Djokovic, it is going to be virtually impossible for him to win another Grand Slam title. Over the past couple of months, he has been talking bravely of taking on the likes of Sinner and Alcaraz and still having the hunger for success. But age has caught up with even the supremely fit Serb and it is not going to be easy to combat the injuries that he has been enduring for much of the last year. Under the circumstances, his 24th and last Grand Slam title – the US Open in 2023 – could well turn out to be a poignant moment both from a personal viewpoint and in tennis history.

(The writer is a veteran sports writer who spent his career working for The Indian Express and The Telegraph and Sportsworld. He lives in Chennai.)

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