‘I expected more from Zverev, Alcaraz and even Djokovic in Sinner’s absence’
Jannik Sinner’s rivals have all “really struggled” during the world No 1’s absence from the tour so far due to their lack of “continuity”, according to former Italian ATP pro Paolo Lorenzi.
On February 15, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced that Sinner had agreed to serve a three-month ban for testing positive for the anabolic steroid clostebol twice in March 2024.
The Italian’s suspension runs from February 9 to May 4, meaning he will be able to return to action at the Masters 1000 event in Rome, which begins on May 7.
Sinner has already missed out on scheduled appearances in Doha, Indian Wells and Miami, and he will be unable to feature at the clay-court Masters tournaments in Monte Carlo and Madrid.
The three-time Grand Slam winner’s ban has presented the chasing pack with an opportunity to close the gap at the top of the ATP Rankings.
However, Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz — who are ranked second and third respectively — have largely failed to capitalise thus far.
Zverev was only able to amass a 4-4 record across tournaments in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Acapulco and Indian Wells, although he is still in action at the ongoing Miami Open.
Alcaraz has fared better, winning the Rotterdam Open in February before reaching the last eight in Doha and the semi-finals in Indian Wells. The Spaniard’s second round exit in Miami, however, ended his hopes of catching Sinner before his rival’s return date.
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Speaking on Italian TV channel SuperTennis, Lorenzi named Alcaraz, Zverev and Novak Djokovic as he criticised the inconsistency at the top of the men’s game outside of Sinner.
“They can’t find continuity. The strongest ones really struggle,” the former world No 33 said (translated from Italian).
“I really think there is, excluding Sinner, little difference between the others. When they are not well and not in the best condition, they cannot win matches.
“The first is Alcaraz, who has very little continuity. We expect him now to take advantage of the chance related to Sinner’s absence to become number one again, instead he has precisely a continuity problem, which he needs to solve quickly.
“The others, too: Zverev himself went to South America to score points and instead the conditions are complicated.
“For everyone else, I don’t see that crazy difference in their game. They struggle a lot. I expected something more from Zverev, Alcaraz and even Novak Djokovic.
“Sinner improved too much compared to the others. We can also say that to catch up with Sinner, the others are making changes to improve their game. To do this, of course, takes time. This forces you to lose games.”
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