A former Roland Garros winner spoke about Jannik Sinner’s start to the season and the comparison with Federer and Nadal
Adriano Panatta, champion of the Roland Garros 1976, in an editorial written for the Italian site Ok Tennis, praised Jannik Sinner, his young countryman who is writing incredible new pages of tennis history, especially for his country.
“The boy, one piece at a time, took over Italian tennis, his records, all of them, and it is natural that sooner or later he would also rise to the top of world tennis. He has the ability to do so, wi
Indeed, he is already at a good point, after being fourth in the ranking for a few weeks, then third, now he is second. He must be acknowledged that the objectives he talks about, the ones he really wants to achieve, are different. He aims for his own growth, he wants to become a better tennis player every day,” he told.
“He’s a phenomenon to watch, Sinner, certainly the greatest baseline hitter of the last twenty years. But I’m not surprised by how many beautiful technical, tactical and mental things he has added to his tennis, rather I’m surprised by the reaction of his opponents. I see them devastated, because they have discovered, or are discovering, the anguish of having to meet him.
Most go onto the court already out of breath, feeling nervous. In fact, already beaten. Djokovic, Medvedev, and in the Miami final also Dimitrov, who has really good tennis. At a certain point he also gave up, halfway through the second set he realized that the match had already been over for a while,” explained Panatta.
“Sinner and Alcaraz are the new Federer and Nadal”
According to Panatta, only one opponent will be able to resist the strength of Jannik Sinner over the years.
“Everyone, except one: Carlos Alcaraz. Not only because he is the only one to have beaten him this year, but because he is two years younger and is an exceptional tennis player.
Today perhaps Sinner is superior to him, but only slightly. The tennis of the future will be played between the two of them, they are the new Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal,” he analyzed.
The growth shown by Jannik Sinner last year was exponential and has become dominant in 2024, with Jannik achieving prestigious victories, losing only one match and gaining the second position in the ATP ranking. No Italian tennis player had ever achieved these results in history.
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