Jannik Sinner records incredible service statistic as he extends flawless run on hard courts

Kevin Palmer 14 Aug 2025 12:01 AM

Jannik Sinner in Cincinnati

Jannik Sinner continued his stunning record on hard courts with a battling win against Adrian Mannarino at the Cincinnati Masters and his latest victory included a remarkable serving statistic.

The world No 1 saw off his veteran opponent 6-4, 7-6(4) in a match that included a long interruption for a rain break in Cincinnati, with Sinner’s dominant first serve ensuring he eased into another ATP Tour Masters 1000 quarter-final.

Remarkably, he won 97% of the points when he landed his thudding first serve, which translated to 31 points won out of 32.

It was a spectacular statistic for Sinner, but he may feel he can improve in his next match as he only landed 52% of his first serves, as he found the target on 32 occasions amid 62 attempts.

The only time Mannarino won a point when Sinner landed a first serve was at 6-5 in the second set, as he broke serve and took the set into a tie-break.

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Sinner won that with something to spare and confirmed he was content with his progress as he looks to defend his Cincinnati Masters title.

“He’s a tough opponent,” said Sinner. “Very different to all the other opponents. Not only because he is a leftie but also how he hits the ball – it’s very low.

“I struggled a bit to close it out but this can happen in this sport and I’m very happy to be in the next round.”

The pace and accuracy of Sinner’s first serve is a key reason why he has emerged from being a contender to establishing himself as the undisputed No 1 on the ATP Tour, with his coach Darren Cahill explaining how he has had an impact on that area of his game since joining the Sinner team.

“One thing I did say is, ‘The serve needs to improve. You’re six foot four and you’re a strong lad’,” said Cahill in an interview with the ATP Tour website. “You need to be able to get more miles per hour on that first serve, better direction on that first serve.

“Then not only do you start winning some free points from your first serve, but also your Plus One becomes much more effective. If people can neutralise your serve, you have to work much harder for your points.

“Then his questions came, one after the other ‘How do I get better at the serve? What do I need to do?’ It’s typical of him. He wants to compete. He’s a competition animal.

Cahill also explained how the partnership with Sinner’s other key coach Simone Vagnozzi works as he added: “I work hand-in-hand with Simone, he started about six months before I did, and he has been amazing. He had a vision for where Jannik’s game needed to go and we spent a lot of time together working through what technical changes he had to make.

“Anything from a technical point of view, creating more ways for him to develop finishing skills, with his serve a little bit, his transition skills, all the stuff that all the great champions of the sport have in their arsenal.

“Jannik was already a great player, he was already a top-10 player, he hit the ball great from the back of the court, but he needed to work on more avenues to finish points.

“And so we went to work and we a really fortunate that we have a player who wants to get better every single day, he never settles for where he is at the moment, no matter what he achieves and every time he steps onto the court he is looking to improve as a tennis player.”

Sinner has now won 24 straight matches on hard courts and will look to extend that run by defending his title in Cincinnati.