Jannik Sinner ‘ready to win a major’ after adding these variations to his game, says former world No 2

Jannik Sinner has upped his game and is ready to take the next step and win his maiden Grand Slam, according to top tennis analyst Alex Corretja.

The 22-year-old Sinner enjoyed a dream 2023 season as he won his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title at the Canadian Open while he also finished runner-up at the season-ending ATP Finals as well as the ATP 1000 Miami Open.

He also had a breakthrough at the Grand Slams and against the big-name players as he reached the semi-final at Wimbledon and defeated the top three players in the world in Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev.

Sinner finished the year at a career-high No 4 in the ATP Rankings and also steered Italy to their first Davis Cup title since 1976.

The Italian, who won four titles in 2023, scooped the ATP’s Most Improved Player of the Year award on the back of his success while Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi won the ATP’s Coach of the Year award as they have been key to his rise.

Following his success, many believe it is only a matter of time before the youngster finally gets his hands on a major trophy.

Two-time Roland Garros runner-up Corretja is one of those who feel Sinner is within touching distance of winning a Slam and he highlighted how the 22-year-old has improved in recent months by adding some key features to his game, including slicing and drop shots.

“I think Sinner is doing the right steps,” he said on Eurosport. “He’s been improving his game very much.

“It was very important to add different things, like his serve is huge, his forehand, his backhand, but also he’s slicing from time to time. He’s coming more often to the net. He’s doing some drop shots. This is a variation that he needed in order to be ready to win majors.

“If you only play a huge level of tennis, you’re going to win maybe [against] 80% of the guys on tour, 85%. But there are some others that you won’t beat if you don’t have something different.

“You need something special to win majors. And I think Jannik, he’s been working on that and it’s paying off.

“He’s ready and I think he will be ready to win a major. [In] ’24, why not? If not, ’25, but I think he’s going to be definitely 100% ready.”

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