Jannik Sinner improves one key shot as he eyes up push to reclaim world No 1 spot
Jannik Sinner vowed to make changes to his serve after it proved to be a big area of weakness in his US Open final defeat against Carlos Alcaraz earlier this month and the initial impression is he has already fixed some of the problems.
A brutally honest Sinner admitted his serve was not where it needed to be as he was beaten by Alcaraz in New York, with his desire to improve highlighted by comments that raised plenty of eyebrows.
Sinner’s claim that he was willing to lose some matches as he experimented with new tweaks in his game highlighted that the deposed world No 1 was eager to do all he can to find improvements to keep up with Alcaraz.
“I can say that I’m gonna become a better tennis player and I’m gonna change a couple of things on the serve, just small things, but, they can make big differences and then we see how it goes,” said Sinner.
“I’m looking forward to play these matches again, something new is now that I’m not No 1 anymore so you know. Now you chase, it’s different.
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“Maybe I will lose some matches from now on, but I will try to do some changes, trying to be a bit more unpredictable as a player and because I think that’s what I have to do, trying to become a better tennis player.”
He went on to expand on those comments ahead of his opening match against former US Open champion Marin Cilic at the China Open in Beijing.
“We’ve been reflecting a lot on that final,” said Sinner. “We are working on new things. We are changing a lot of small things. The amount of mistakes at the moment is, for sure, a little bit higher, but I hope that this recovers.
“It’s just a question of time. I don’t know how much I’m able to [implement changes] on the actual match court because one thing is practise and one thing is match. Let’s see. I’m very motivated. It’s great to work on something new, then we see how this ends up. We always try to move forward. One step in front is always better than two steps back. Let’s see what we can do.”
Sinner’s eagerness to add a drop of unpredictability into his game may take time, but he made a good start to his mission to bulk up his serve in a convincing victory against Cilic.
He landed just 48 per-cent of his first serves in the US Open final against Alcaraz, with the number of second serves he was forced to hit giving his Spanish rival a chance to put him under constant pressure.
Against Cilic, he crashed in 77 per-cent of his first serves, with the emphatic 6-2, 6-2 win confirming he has already made some progress on his service motion.
“I try to put a lot of concentration into the first-round matches, because I know that many things can go wrong,” said Sinner after the win. “After you usually find your rhythm, your pace, the speed of the courts much better. I try to prepare myself in the best possible way. I came here quite early in order to feel the conditions.
“I’m very happy to deliver this kind of performance today. Marin is a very tough player to play against, his peak is quite high. I managed to break him quite early in both sets, which gave me the confidence to keep going.”
The battle between Sinner and Alcaraz is fascinating on so many levels, with this two great champions spurring each other on to new heights as they battle for supremacy at the top of the men’s game.
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