"I certainly wouldn’t bet against him": Former world number one backs Jannik Sinner to defend Australian Open title

Former world number one Andy Roddick has predicted that Italy’s Jannik Sinner will win the Australian Open 2025. The 23-year-old, who is regarded as one of the best players currently playing in men’s tennis in the singles category along with the likes of Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, is defending his title in Melbourne this year.

He lifted the title in 2024 after beating Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in the final in a five-set thriller with a score of 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3. Former world number one Roddick has been recently quoted in a report by Tennis 365, in which he predicted that Sinner would be the player to win the Australian Open title this year. Roddick stated that there is doubt about the Italian’s future because of the ongoing doping controversy as his case is set to be heard by WADA later this year, but he remains the best hardcourt player on the tour.

“Jannik Sinner is the favourite in the men’s, and he’s the person that I think will win,” he said. “Will he dominate the year like he did in 2024? There is the cloud of the WADA case over him, so there’s every chance that this is the last time we see him for six months or a year. A lot depends on how his case shakes out, but I do think he is the best hard-court player in the world. He has wrestled that mantle away from Novak Djokovic after a decade-plus run with that moniker. I think Sinner’s the one to beat in Australia, and I certainly wouldn’t bet against him.”

Roddick also went on to name Spain’s Alcaraz as Sinner’s closest rival this year but believes that the reigning world number three needs to become more consistent. “Carlos Alcaraz is his closest rival,” he said. “But everyone knows he needs to find more consistency, and he’s not saying anything different. He won two Slams in 2024, which is nuts. We know his top level might be the best in the world. He won all his matches against Sinner in sanctioned events, but the consistency is the issue. Who’s more likely to lose early in a Slam right now between Sinner and Alcaraz? It’s Carlos. But I listened to him at an event in Charlotte, where I live, and he glossed over the two Slams very quickly and spent a lot of time talking about how he wants to be more consistent. For me, I’m thinking: ‘OK. You had a year that was better than my entire career, in five weeks!’ I think he is laser focused on what he can improve upon, and I think that makes him even more impressive.”