‘If Jannik Sinner plays his best tennis, I don’t know who can beat him’, says renowned coach
Esteemed coach and former player Brad Gilbert has declared that he does not know who can defeat Jannik Sinner if the Italian plays his best tennis.
The former world No 4 believes Sinner is one of the three “players to beat” in the men’s game, along with Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.
Gilbert, who previously helped Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick win Grand Slam titles, is currently working with women’s world No 6 Coco Gauff.
Sinner will face world No 12 Alexander Zverev in the fourth round of the 2023 US Open on Monday. The 22-year-old holds a 1-3 record against the German, having lost the pair’s previous three encounters.
The world No 6 has progressed to the last 16 at Flushing Meadows for the loss of just one set, which came in his third-round win over Stan Wawrinka. The Italian could face Alcaraz in the quarter-finals in a rematch of the five-set thriller the duo contested at the same stage of last year’s US Open.
In an interview with Super Tennis, Gilbert gave his thoughts on the current state of Italian men’s tennis and lauded the level of Sinner.
“Today, Italy is closer than ever to winning a Slam. 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,” said the American.
“If Jannik plays his best tennis, I don’t know who can beat him, but he still has one last step to take. 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.
“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 62-year-old also discussed the hopes of American men’s players at the US Open, placing them below the tier of the main contenders.
“Let’s look at the numbers, we have four Americans in the round of 16, but if you ask me if one of them can beat Djokovic, Alcaraz or Sinner, I tell you it’s difficult. If you ask me if one of these can win the title, I’ll tell you it’s tough. I would like it so much,” added Gilbert.
“We are getting closer but at the moment no one plays better than Djokovic, Alcaraz and Sinner. These three are the players to beat, then I add [Daniil] Medvedev and then the Americans.”
