Former world number one
Mats Wilander has highlighted one
reason which makes Italy’s
Jannik Sinner a perfect role model for younger
players ahead of Spain’s
Carlos Alcaraz. The 23-year-old recently lifted his fourth
Grand Slam and first
Wimbledon title after beating Alcaraz in the final with a
score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
The win was a special one for Sinner for numerous reasons,
one of them being that he became the first Italian player ever to win the Wimbledon title. It was also crucial for Sinner to get one better of the same opponent against whom he suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the final of the French Open, where he failed to capitalise on three championship points.
Wilander has recently spoken to French media outlet L’Équipe, where he praised Sinner for producing some incredible tennis in recent years. Wilander was of the opinion that Sinner’s tennis is ‘five or ten years’ ahead
of what he would have imagined the sport to be, and believes that he will become
the role model for youngsters because players with limited ability can play like
him by working hard, something which is not the case with Alcaraz who is more talented and depends on using his unique technque.
“I’ve never seen anyone play tennis as aggressively as
Sinner,” said Wilander. “It’s not that he hits everything that moves like a
madman, it’s that he’s always looking to get the ball early. Some people hit it
harder than him, but no one gets to the ball as quickly to play it on the rise,
never waiting for it to come back down. I think his tennis is five or ten years
ahead of what I imagined the evolution of the game would be. A bit like when,
in football, for the first time, there was quick one-touch passes: the speed of
the game was turned upside down. He’s leading the way and will quickly serve as
a role model, because not everyone can play tennis like Alcaraz. That requires
extremely rare talent. On the other hand, everyone can try to play like Sinner,
which doesn’t require exceptional talent in itself, but total dedication.”