Tennis, as we know, is a sport that is as mechanical as it is mental. And in that second field, Jannik Sinner has a lot to gain. Although his passport indicates 22 years, he carries himself with the confidence of veterans, dominating the scene and dictating in the exchange, especially in this present that in his case practically translates into a recital. Another title under his belt, the third this season, the thirteenth in a career that he paints wonderfully. The last success occurs in Miami, where he had previously bowed in two finals; but even so, this Sunday there is not the slightest trace of doubts, fears or indecisions. Quite the opposite. Like a mower making its way, he destroys Grigor Dimitrov (6-3 and 6-1, in 1h 13m) and redefines the world status. The award in Florida is accompanied by a significant jump in the ranking and Carlos Alcaraz, now third, pays for it. Novak Djokovic continues to lead, but this 2024 is unquestionably the Italian’s, who is making his debut on the second rung of the ATP.
If a few days ago it was the Spaniard who felt overwhelmed by the Bulgarian, this time it was the latter who ended up mentally empty. Fabulous on the route to the final, reborn after a few years in the shadows, Dimitrov ended up frustrated. Sinner annulled him with that robotic and devastating exercise, and what was supposed to be a substantial final was a mere stroll by the Italian, forceful in his words: ladies and gentlemen, here I am. To Alcaraz’s bite in Indian Wells, he responds with another acceleration. He goes up and up, intimidates more and more: 22 victories in 23 games. Only the Murcian has been able to beat him. The key, he says, “is to stay focused on the present, enjoy the moment.” And so he now captures his second Masters 1000 – in the summer he celebrated in Toronto – and reaffirms the message that today, he is the man to beat. The Bulgarian came on the back of a fantastic wave, but he ran into a real concrete wall. He couldn’t beat Hurkacz (2021) or Medvedev (2023), but he could this time beat Dimitrov. The weight of logic.
Little did he know a duel that began to turn in the fifth game, when a couple of errors when reversing cost the player from Jaskovo the break. From there, a Mortirolo for him, uphill all the time and without the ability to detach. The only time he tried, Sinner responded forcefully. The redhead avoided any fantasy and led the pulse along the path of erosion, as he likes, making the difficult easy, with an authority reminiscent of Nole’s tyrannical procedure. Elevated once more, he reinforces his current dominance, while Dimitrov is left with the consolation of his return to the top-10 (ninth), the place that perhaps should never have left.
Add up and continue Sinner, a winning machine. An emerging figure that grows and grows respecting the times, without rushing but also without delays. As the old guard is pushed aside and Djokovic discovers the occasional crack, he presses on with determination and continues to build a very solid foundation. In his tennis you can see hunger, punch, variables and good foundations, and in his speech common sense as well as ambition. It is a whole, well surrounded as well; The Cahill-Vagnozzi duo has provided a plus from the bench and has compensated for the physical deficit with extra hours in the gym. Patient when he had to be, during that period in which he did not finish breaking through and Alcaraz was reaching the top and grabbing headlines in the big tournaments, he clicked from the fall, went ahead and since then he has gotten rid of his rivals by slaps He is the wheel to follow.
Sinner has the traits of the great tennis players, of those who mark an era. His wonderful proposal, rhythm and more rhythm from the trenches, is accompanied by an emotional stability inappropriate for his age. To date, he has never gone through extremes, always restrained and prudent, comfortable in that middle ground in which successes are not exaggerated nor are there collapses when they happen badly. He is firm in any circumstance, he consumes his opponents in rallies and strikes from both angles: he is as good with his forehand as he is with his backhand. He controls the timing. In comparison, one can guess Djokovic’s winks in that constant hammering that he exerts when he reaches the optimal point, capable of rocking the one in front of him from one side to the other without blinking. His service is remarkable – 88% reward with the first in the final – and despite his size – 1.88, with thin and long limbs – he offers magnificent mobility.
To all these components he adds a fundamental virtue, as he knows how to carry out games regardless of inspiration. These last two weeks serve as an example, in which, without having given off excessive brilliance, he has resolved without hesitation; Only Tallon Griekspoor, in the second season, was able to scratch a set. There are no gaps in a tennis player who starts from sobriety, whether on or off the court. He is not known for stridency or out-of-tone episodes, but rather good nature and recognition towards his rivals. Now that tennis turns the page, it finds in it a magnificent banner, much closer to the old Nordic school than to volcanic profiles. Sinner is synonymous with silence and good work, with regularity and evolution, because since he appeared in the elite, in 2020, he has not stopped improving. There are the results, the extraordinary rise of the last half year. But, cautiously, along his lines, he remarks: “The only thing that matters to me is improving day after day,” and he complies with himself. Wow, he complies.
THE CLAY COURT EXAM
Clay, precisely, is a pending subject for Sinner. Of the 13 titles he has achieved so far, only one was on this surface. He achieved it two years ago in Umag (Croatia), where a year before Alcaraz won his first ATP trophy. The fight between the two over the next two months looks good, although the Spaniard defends a significant amount of points for the successes in Barcelona and Madrid, in addition to the semifinals at Roland Garros.
Sinner, on the other hand, signed a discreet step in the arena a year ago. He lost in the second round in Paris, and in the preparatory tournaments he only stood out in Monte Carlo, where he reached the semifinals; In Rome he stayed in the round of 16 and in Madrid he did not even participate. He will have the opportunity, therefore, to accumulate a relevant number of points, but to do so he will have to adapt to a terrain that still resists him.
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