"Today, Italy is closer than ever to winning a Slam" says Brad Gilbert in particular praising Sinner as best hope

The ex-coach of the former world number one Andre Agassi Brad Gilbert believes that he does not know anyone who can beat Italy’s Jannik Sinner if he is playing his best tennis.

The 22-year-old is currently taking part in the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year where he has already booked his spot in the round of 16.

Gilbert, who is the current coach of America’s young tennis sensation Coco Gauff, has heaped praise on Sinner and believes that there isn’t anyone who can compete with him if the Italian is playing at the highest level.

“Today, Italy is closer than ever to winning a Slam,” he said. “Look at Jannik Sinner, [Darren] Cahill is with him today. For me, he is on another level even compared to [Matteo] Berrettini, who played in one final and more than one semi-final. If Jannik plays his best tennis, I don’t know who can beat him, but he still has one last step to take.”

The 62-year-old further went on to talk about how organising Challengers events helped Italy produce some of the best young talent in the world.

“If today Italy, at the top, can boast a striker like Sinner and a young man who is forging ahead like Matteo Arnaldi, it is thanks to the work done at the base,” he said. “What has helped you the most, in my opinion, is having organized many Futures and Challengers. In Italy, winning matches in the Challengers gives you confidence, it helps more than anything. It all started from there.”

The current world number six defeated Switzerland’s veteran tennis star and the former world number three Stan Wawrinka in the round of 32 clash with a score of 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.

The San Candido-born is now set to face Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the fourth round of the mega-event on Monday.