Jannik Sinner is suddenly looking taller than his lanky 6-foot-3-inch frame. The world No.1, who won consecutive Australian Open titles and back-to-back grand slams on Sunday, seems set to establish himself as a dominant force in the sport, even when there is a Carlos Alcaraz lurking around.
“I can do better,” the 23-year-old Italian said with all conviction after making second seed Alexander Zverev look clueless in the final. Known to be an aggressive baseliner and one of the hardest hitters on the ATP tour, Sinner can also play deadly drop shots with a soft hand that completely throws his opponent off guard. His two-handed-backhand, loaded with topspin, is also a potent weapon.
Even at the end of 2023, it was Alcaraz who had been the major force. So is there a change?
“I don’t think Alcaraz is really falling behind. He is 21 and Sinner is 23. He has four and Sinner has three grand slams. I believe they are neck to neck and will be so for the next few years,” said Somdev Dev Varman, a former world No. 62.
“But what is true is that Sinner is definitely improving by leaps and bounds. He is a power-hitter. That’s the bread-and-butter of his game. But while that stays, the additional dimensions that he is adding to his game makes him more dangerous. The deceptive drop shot, the slide, the coming into the net — all that adds up.
“Tennis is a game where headlines keep changing. Sinner and Alcaraz both have improved in a very short span of time. They are truly ahead of the game. Having said that, two years down the line we may get another crop of players — say someone like Brazil’s Joao Fonseca.”
Fonseca, the 18-year-old qualifier ranked 112, beat ninth seed Andrey Rublev on his major debut at this Australian Open. Then there was the 19-year-old American Learner Tien who sent fifth seed Daniil Medvedev packing. Another teen, Czech Jakub Mensik, knocked out Casper Ruud, the No. 6. Each one of them showed promise, though they did not really go deep into the tournament.
But can Sinner and Alcaraz dominate the sport for decades as the Big Three — Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal — did?
“It is too early to say that. That era was stupendous. We didn’t see anything like that before their time either. But again in tennis things move very quickly,” Somdev added.
What makes Sinner special? Maybe the fact that he is being compared to the top ones. He had been compared to Federer for his calm on-court demeanour and all-court movement.
And on Sunday, Zverev paid him what was perhaps the best compliment of the night. “He’s very, very similar to Novak (Djokovic) when he was at his best. They barely miss. Like, barely miss,” Zverev said after his loss.
“It’s very, very difficult to win a point from the back of the court against them — against Novak and him,” said Zverev, who is ranked No. 2 but felt much further away from No. 1 Sinner in the Rod Laver Arena.
Sinner won the Australian and the US Open in 2024 and also made it to the semi-finals at Roland Garros where he lost to Alcaraz in five sets.
He skipped the Paris Olympics but by the year end, became the first Italian to be ranked No. 1. He won the ATP Finals in Turin and also helped his country beat the Netherlands in the Davis Cup final.
Alcaraz, on the other hand, won the French Open and Wimbledon, the silver medal at Paris (losing the gold to Djokovic) and ended the year as world No. 3.
The duo’s rivalry is sure to spice things up in 2025. Zverev is sandwiched between them in the rankings right now but somehow he just always falls short and has yet to win a major. Will he remain the eternal bridesmaid? Well a lot of that will depend on the No.1 and No.3.
Sinner, who became the first men’s singles player to successfully defend his maiden major title since Nadal at the French Open in 2006, admitted he can refine his game on both clay and grass courts. “You have to be a complete player, not only on one surface,” said Sinner.