Jannik Sinner ‘robotic narrative’ criticised by Emma Raducanu’s former coach
Respected commentator Mark Petchey has hit back at suggestions that Jannik Sinner is “robotic”, saying there are a lot of impressive facets to the four-time Grand Slam winner’s game.
On the back of matches against Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in recent weeks, rising star Joao Fonseca shared his views on the differences between the top two players in men’s tennis.
“I think Alcaraz has more arsenal than Sinner. Sinner is more like a robot that just kills the ball and does everything perfectly,” the Brazilian said.
“And Carlos, he can do everything. He can do with topspin, he can fire the ball, he has good movement. He goes to the net. He has everything. And it’s more difficult to understand the game. He breaks a lot your rhythm.”
When asked about Fonseca’s comments, Sinner made a “perfect” response.
“I saw, you know, he is right. Coming from a player who played me the week before and now Carlos here, it was the perfect explanation,” the Italian said.
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Petchey – who has coached Emma Raducanu on an informal basis in the past year – is unimpressed as he explained during an appearance on the Tennis Channel’s The Big T podcast that it creates a disappointing narrative around the world No 2.
“I do think we need to be careful and everyone needs to be careful,” he started off. “When you call someone like Jannik robotic, it kind of sets up, you know, this image in your mind that he’s literally out there just sort of, you know, pinging…
“There’s a lot more to Jannik’s game than just being kind of robotic. He’s relentless in his pursuit of excellence. Obviously, he serves and volleys, he hits quite a few drop shots now compared to what he used to.
“The skill level to be able to redirect off a line ball, back up the line with the accuracy that he does, I think we need to find a better way of conveying…
“You know the relentlessness, the consistency, I understand how it gets woven into a robotic kind of narrative, but it isn’t robotic.
“It’s absolutely excellence on a tennis court and to be able to do it, the way that he moves is the furthest thing I have seen from robotic, because it’s very gracious, the way that he slides, you know, obviously the comparisons with the skiing, but the way he slides and bounces back into the court is incredibly dynamic. It’s amazing athleticism out there off both sides.
“I think from my personal point of view when sort of Joao says he’s robotic, I’d rather he say he is relentless. He is relentless with his depth, he is relentless in not giving me a free point.
“We can all see Carlos’ artistry, but I do think we need be careful that we don’t get dragged down into that kind of narrative with Jannik’s game.”
