Jannik Sinner has one ‘fatal’ weakness that a brutal statistic confirms
Former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli has assessed that Jannik Sinner has made “enormous physical progress” while arguing the Italian still has “a fatal bar” opponents could exploit.
Sinner is vying for his maiden French Open title and fourth Grand Slam overall at the 2025 edition of the major.
The world No 1 defeated 75th-ranked Arthur Rinderknech 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 in the opening round at Roland Garros.
The 23-year-old is aiming to win his first Grand Slam tournament on a natural surface, having triumphed on the hard courts of the Australian Open (2024 and 2025) and the US Open (2024).
Sinner is playing just his second tournament since defending his Australian Open title in January as he was unable to compete for three months due to a suspension for failed doping tests.
At his comeback event earlier this month, Sinner won five matches to progress to the final at the Italian Open — where he was beaten by Carlos Alcaraz. Sinner won his only clay-court title to date at the 2022 Croatia Open.
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While Sinner has been lauded for his complete game and mental toughness, his physical staying power in long matches is the one area where questions remain.
The Italian has lost all of the seven longest matches he has played in his career — including the six that have reached the four-hour mark. He holds a 6-9 record in matches that have gone to a fifth set.
Speaking on Prime Video Sport France, Bartoli claimed Sinner’s durability could be a factor in his French Open hopes as she asserted his rivals must push him to a certain time mark in matches.
“Sinner has taken on another physical dimension. He’s not the same player at all,” said the former world No 7 (translated from French).
“We all remember a match he played here against Rafael Nadal [in 2020]. He pushed him around for a set and a half and we said to ourselves: ‘Wow, who is this new Italian who hits the ball very flat, who doesn’t really have a clay-court game?’
“He’s a puncher, a hitter. He’s made enormous physical progress; today he’s a real athlete. So we know that the 4:30 mark is a bit of a fatal bar for Sinner. Beyond that, he starts to get stuck physically, but we have to take him beyond 4:30 of play.”
The 23-year-old will take on French great Richard Gasquet — who is playing the final tournament of his career — in the second round at Roland Garros on Thursday.
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