‘Only Novak Djokovic is superior to Jannik Sinner’, believes former ATP pro
Former ATP player Filippo Volandri believes Novak Djokovic is the only player superior to Jannik Sinner as the great Serb’s experience means he can “handle any kind of situation.”
Volandri, Italy’s Davis Cup captain, thinks Sinner is “building certainty” through the improvement to his physique and the results he has achieved this year.
Sinner is currently at a career-high ranking of world No 4 and sits behind Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev in the ATP Rankings.
The 22-year-old overcame Medvedev in an entertaining and gruelling three-set final at the Vienna Open last week to claim his fourth title of 2023.
The Italian has also triumphed in Montpellier, Toronto and Beijing this year and reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon for his best run at a Major to date.
Sinner will face world No 42 Mackenzie McDonald in his opening match at the Paris Masters on Wednesday.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Volandri hailed Sinner’s victory over Medvedev in Austria and contrasted it with his win against the same opponent in the China Open final at the start of October.
“What I liked about [the] win [was] that he played it differently than in Beijing. In Asia, he was perfect tactically, trying to do a lot of serve and volleys and putting in a lot of different things. [In Vienna], however, he beat the Russian where he was stronger,” said the Italian.
“He played a game that was always very aggressive, but more from the back. It’s as if they had been punching each other in the ring for three hours, and Jannik showed that he was stronger mainly because he did it differently.
First day in Paris 👋🏼🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/ksbnHBE14K
— Jannik Sinner (@janniksin) October 31, 2023
“He learns super fast, he learns from victories and especially from defeats. Jannik and his team study their opponent in detail. It’s a coordinated team, also given [Darren] Cahill’s experience. They have a perfect structure and that helps him.”
The former world No 25 also named Djokovic as the only player he feels is currently superior to the Italian star on the ATP Tour.
“Djokovic, because he’s so experienced that he can handle any kind of situation. Jannik is building certainty, the result of results and a different physique from last year. Progress in all the fundamentals. You noticed him on serve, especially when he found himself handling the important points,” assessed Volandri.
Volandri has named Sinner in his Italian squad for the 2023 Davis Cup finals, along with Lorenzo Musetti, Matteo Arnaldi, Lorenzo Sonego and Simone Bolelli. The knockout stage will take place from November 21 to 26, with Italy to face the Netherlands in the quarter-finals.
The 42-year-old, who retired in 2016, won two ATP singles titles in his career. He earned a win over Roger Federer, who was world No 1 at the time, at the 2007 Italian Open.
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