How Sinner Is Pushing Opponents To The Limit

Sometimes it seems like Jannik Sinner is playing a video game when he steps on the tennis court. The 21-year-old defies convention with his levels of power and precision.

Most players cannot hit the ball as hard as the San Candido native, nor can they come close. But when they do, they might land one shot and hit the next ball 10 feet past the baseline or into the bottom of the net. Sinner, an easygoing former junior skier from northern Italy, whips the ball with such calm that it is as if he is playing ping-pong on a tennis court.

Some people call playing so aggressively ‘redlining’. For Sinner, it is just another day at the office. He is a ball-striking machine.

There are players with more finesse who make better use of spins and angles. As far as pure gripping and ripping goes, few, if any, do it better than Sinner.

The 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals champion has plenty of flair, too. Take the magical point he played when serving at 4-2, 0/15 in the Miami Open presented by Itau semi-finals against World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard has quickly become a human highlight reel, with fans sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for him to produce a magical moment. It appeared he would do it again Friday evening inside Hard Rock Stadium.

After escaping several tough moments in the rally, Alcaraz ended up at net to position himself to come out on top. Sinner responded with a perfect curling backhand pass that the diving top seed was unable to reach.

Sinner raised his right arm in the air and waved the crowd to get loud. Alcaraz is a show-stopper, and the Italian is proving he is, too.

“That’s why Jannik is such a great player, as well. Not only with [his] great serve, great movements, it is because he pushes the opponent to the limit,” Alcaraz said in a press conference at Indian Wells. “[He is] trying to play aggressive with great shots. And to the opponent it’s really tough to be focused, mentally and physically, during the whole match.

“That’s [why] I love playing against him, as well, that it pushes me to the limit. I have to be really, really focused. I love to feel that.”

Sinner explained in Miami — and has also done so previously — that Alcaraz brings the best out of him and forces him to find even better tennis within himself. “Today, you have to go for shots where usually you don’t go for it,” he said in Florida. “I think he has a little bit the same feeling, I guess.”

After Alcaraz lost their semi-final in a memorable three sets, the Spaniard said: “I feel something different about the crowd when I play against Jannik.

“I think around the world it’s probably all the people watching this match because I think it’s really beautiful to watch.”

The analytics verify Sinner’s level. According to Tennis Insights, Sinner’s Shot Quality on forehand, backhand and return across ATP Tour events in 2023 has been among the top three for each stroke. Shot Quality is calculated in real time by analysing each shot’s speed, spin, depth, width, and the impact it has on the opponent.

But despite those stats, there have been near misses in match results within the past year. Sinner earned match point against Alcaraz in the fourth set of last year’s US Open quarter-finals before succumbing in a gripping five-setter that ended at 2:50 a.m. Alcaraz went on to claim his maiden major and become the youngest World No. 1 in Pepperstone ATP Rankings history.

Sinner was left to wonder what could have been. After that match he said, “I think this one will hurt for quite a while.”

The Italian then dropped another heartbreaking five-setter in the fourth round of the Australian Open to Stefanos Tsitsipas. In February, he let slip a one-set advantage against Daniil Medvedev in the Rotterdam final.

The Italian has channelled the pain from those losses into progress. Sinner is playing the best tennis of his career. If he defeats Medvedev on Sunday to lift the trophy, he will climb to a career-high World No. 6 on Monday. And if you ask Sinner, the tennis machine still has plenty of upgrades to make.

“For sure I feel like I can serve much better. Physically I can get stronger,” Sinner said after defeating Emil Ruusuvuori earlier in the tournament. “Also my forehand and backhand. I mean, trying to go more to the net, and I [need to] just to try it also out in matches.”

Given the current state of his game, that is a daunting prospect for his rivals on the ATP Tour. It is also a confidence-boosting one for the man himself.

“For sure, knowing that already I am where I am right now, knowing that I can play good tennis, and if I play good tennis I can play even with every player [is good],” Sinner said. “So let’s see.”

Sinner has been knocking on the door of a huge result. Will Sunday be the day he barges through for his first Masters 1000 title?