"What he has done in the last two months has brought him closer": Ivan Ljubicic says Jannik Sinner is unlike Carlos Alcaraz in tennis rise

Former Croatian tennis player Ivan Ljubicic believes that Italy’s young tennis star Jannik Sinner need ‘steps’ to reach his highest potential.

The 22-year-old is often regarded as one of the most highly-rated players currently playing in the men’s single category alongside Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz and America’s Ben Shelton. Ljubicic was recently quoted in a report where he expressed his opinion that Sinner is not like Alcaraz who will get success instantly but instead, he will have to take smaller steps to reach the very top.

“I immediately believed in his chances. Jannik is not like Alcaraz, who went from number 40 to number one [in no time],” he said. “He needs steps. I think what he has done in the last two months, the confirmation of hard work, has brought him closer to the goal.

“He needed certain experiences to feel comfortable on this path. At the end of 2022, I said that I regretted that Jannik had not played important matches against the biggest players. Now he has nothing more to learn.

“He started by winning his first Masters 1000, then he beat all the world number ones’ . He reached the final in Turin & lost it because he was very tired after a difficult semi‐final against Medvedev. But when he left the court, his mind was already on the team & the Davis Cup.”

Sinner had a more than impressive year, especially the second half of the season, and he finished the year on a high as well after helping Italy in winning the Davis Cup after a gap of more than two decades.

Other than that, Sinner also went on to play in the final of the last major competition in men’s tennis — the ATP Finals — on his home soil. However, he was on the losing side in the all-important encounter.