About Jannik Sinner
Matt Cronin
Going into 2023, the young Italian Jannik Sinner looked like a very good player, but not yet someone who was about to win a Grand Slam and climb into the top ranks -- unlike his friend and rival, Carlos Alcaraz, who had already captured his first major in 2022 and would get another the following season. Week to week, the hard-hitting Sinner would find some massive shots, but he also frequently came up with errors.
But during 2023, he started to become much more consistent, and make some small changes to his game with coaches Simone Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill. It had a big impact. It all started with making a change to the serve.
Almost three months ago, Sinner won the Australian Open, coming from two sets down to triumph 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 against Daniil Medvedev. In the semis, Sinner jumped on No. 1 Novak Djokovic 6-1, 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-3 -- his fourth win against the Serb, something not a lot of players can boast of having. His forehand and his backhand were hefty, as usual, but look carefully, and there were there were also new aspects to his play during the two weeks.
Most obviously and perhaps importantly, he slightly changed his serving motion halfway during 2023 -- from a platform stance with both feet together, he went to lifting up his back foot and also aligning his throwing arm more with his racquet take back.
According to former No. 4 Greg Rusedski, that allows Sinner to take advantage of his 6' 2" height. "So he's got the height and he's got the simplicity now. He's gone back and forth between bringing his foot up and keeping it back. But now Sinner has found the right rhythm, and I think this is the service motion to stick with," he told ATP.com.
Aussie coach Cahill, who joined Sinner in 2022, also told the New York Times that he has worked on getting him to simplify other shots, going back to older techniques. The team has also added variety, mixing in slice, volleys and dropshots alongside his power.
"They're still not 100 percent natural, but they're only going to get better with time because he's one of those guys who is going to put in the work... He's willing to add in a slice once in a while, transition forward. There's no real weakness on each side," said Rusedski.
Sinner's breakthrough had been building for a while according to Alcaraz's coach, former 2003 Roland Garros champion, Juan Carlos Ferrero, who points to the 22-year-old also physically improving. ''We already saw Sinner two years ago and we knew that this moment was going to come," he told La Nacion. "He has been knocking on the door for a long time, we saw him playing tennis to win Grand Slams. Physically, maybe it was a little doubt because he was a very thin player, but once he trained and matured, he achieved it."
Returning to court following his Australian Open victory, Sinner won another tournament at Rotterdam, beating Alex De Minaur 7-5 6-4 in the final. And then, he kept pushing on, reached into the semis in Indian Wells, losing to Alcaraz in three sets, and then in Miami, Sinner rose up, winning the title, not losing a set, against all of them.
The now No. 2 can eventually become No. 1 at some point, and challenge Djokovic, who decide not to play in Madrid. Even as he walked off a winner at the Australian Open, he was looking higher.
"So it's a great moment for me and my team, but in the other way, we also know that we have to improve if we want to have another chance to hold a big trophy again," Sinner told the press.
"Look, I haven't changed because of the success. I don't believe in these kind of things, because the way you are as a human being is much more important than all the rest, and I always try to surround myself with good people who give me something positive. I think that's for me the most important. Then of course I dream, I dream big, I dream to win as many titles as possible."
