Mats Wilander has been left stunned when giving yet another glowing assessment of Jannik Sinner, suggesting he is already accomplishing one feat better than any player ever before him.
It is not a fresh or exciting take to praise the world number one, but that doesn’t mean he is not deserving of unlimited adulation, especially given how he has performed across the last two years.
During that, the Italian has amassed a handful of major titles whilst also battling both the prospect of, and eventual three-month suspension.
Unflappable mentally and technically astute, there are few, if any, flaws to his game.
And now Wilander has gone a step further when outlining one area of Jannik Sinner’s game that he claims he’s never seen anyone do before him.
Mats Wilander left stunned by key Jannik Sinner trait
Speaking to French outlet L’Equipe, he simply admitted: “I’ve never seen anyone play tennis as aggressively as Sinner.”
The two-time Grand Slam champion continued: “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.”