Former British No 1 tells Jannik Sinner ‘there is one player’ who can stop him
Jannik Sinner’s demolition of Alexander Zverev in the Madrid Open final sent out an ominous message to the chasing pack, but former British No 1 Greg Rusedski suggests there is one man who could unsettle the Italian.
Sinner’s 6-1, 6-2 win over Zverev was as comprehensive as it comes, with the No 2 seed never looking likely to challenge a player who has separated himself from the chasing pack in a manner that could make men’s tennis a little dull in Carlos Alcaraz’s absence.
Yet Rusedski believes there is one man who will not be intimidated by the prospect of taking on Sinner, with Novak Djokovic’s imminent return to action adding a new ingredient to the men’s game heading into the Italian Open in Rome.
Djokovic beat Sinner with a stunning performance at the Australian Open in January and Rusedski suggested the Serbian legend will believe he can halt the runaway train that is the world No 1.
“There’s one man who might be back this week… Novak Djokovic,” declared Rusedski, on the latest edition of his podcast.
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“We haven’t talked about him. We haven’t seen him, but he’s a guy who doesn’t discount himself from any event he plays.”
Djokovic is expected to play in Rome, as he makes his comeback to tennis after an extended break following an appearance at the Indian Wells Masters in March.
The flawless form Sinner showed against Zverev suggests it will need a very special performance to halt his winning march, with Rusedski urging the chasing pack to step up.
“When Carlos is in town, it does make it more interesting, but come on, somebody’s gotta step up as well. It can’t just be one player,” added Rusedski.
“Zverev is the closest one to Sinner with his clay court results, but he’s been miles off him the last little while.
“So you’re thinking to yourself, who is the next guy? Arthur Fils, we were thinking was gonna be one of the next guys in the pack, but he’s bound to be tired after playing so many matches.
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“Jack Draper is one of those guys we thought could have a chance to step up, but he’s out injured and Ben Shelton is another young player who needs to step up.
“Somebody’s got to answer the bell in Rome when conditions are back to normal. No more altitude balls, so it’s easier to control. So let’s see what happens, but it’s going to take a Herculean effort for anybody to stop him.
“Let’s see what happens in Rome. Can anybody get close to him? And from what I’ve seen, it doesn’t look like it at the moment, but that’s why we play it because you never know what can happen.”
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