Former British No 1 on Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz and a shock Wimbledon contender

Question marks around Jannik Sinner’s grass court prowess were always misplaced, according to former British No 1 Laura Robson.

After the world No 1 claimed his first grass court title in Halle last week, Sinner arrives at Wimbledon eyeing up his first title at the All England Club.

Now Robson has told Tennis365 that the doubts around Sinner’s ability to shine on the surface were something of a mystery.

“Everyone has been saying Sinner’s game doesn’t suit grass, but they seemed to forget he already made the semis at Wimbledon last year. That is not a bad result for someone who is meant to be struggling on grass,” said Robson, speaking to Tennis365 at a Play Your Way To Wimbledon event.

“He has been working on coming forward a bit more and a little like Iga (Swiatek), he has learned to flatten his shots out a little more on this surface.

“Given the fact he has hardly lost any matches this year, he is going to have a lot of confidence coming into Wimbledon.

Former British No 1 on Jannik Sinner vs Carlos Alcaraz as she picks a shock Wimbledon contender

Wimbledon men’s singles draw: 5 takeaways – ft. Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz

Sinner could face Carlos Alcaraz in what would be a blockbuster semi-final showdown, with Robson convinced the defending Wimbledon champion will be at his best despite an early defeat in the Queen’s Club warm-up event against Britain’s Jack Draper.

“He was probably so shattered from Paris as there is such a quick turnaround from Paris and he managed to squeeze in a cheeky trip to Ibiza to celebrate, so he probably won’t worry too much about the defeat at Queen’s,” continued Robson.

“Carlos will have got enough practice in at Wimbledon, so I don’t have any worries about him when the tournament starts. The extra week without matches might do him some good.

“The great thing about Carlos is he excites us every time we see him. You always see something new with him.

“You are sat watching in the side of the court and you think he can just do anything. He is unbelievably athletic and just enjoys it so much. You can’t but enjoy it with him when you watch him from the side of the court.”

Draper’s win over Alcaraz confirmed the young Brit will be a player to watch at Wimbledon, with Robson backing the player seeded for the first time at Wimbledon to shine.

“Jack looks amazing and I’m so excited to see what he can do at Wimbledon,” added Robson, who won an Olympic silver medal alongside Andy Murray in the mixed doubles at the 2012 London Olympic Games, that were held at Wimbledon.

“I was so gutted for Jack when he couldn’t play in the grass court events last year as it is so clearly his best surface.

“All of us have been waiting for an ATP Tour title from him for a while now and he played so smart in the final against Matteo Berrettini in Stuttgart.

“Then he backed it up by beating Alcaraz at Queen’s, so I’m very, very excited for him heading into Wimbledon.

“Everyone has been saying for so long that Jack Draper is going to be the next big thing in British tennis and now it looks like he will be.

“You forget how much time he has missed so far in his career due to injuries. That has meant he hasn’t been able to put the hours in on court compared to other players his age, so he has always been playing catch up.

“Now he is getting a chance to have a run of matches and we can see what it is going for him.

“He has been working so hard on the physical side of things gave him extra motivation to put in a seriously good block of work ahead of this season and we are seeing the results now.

“Travelling with a fitness trainer and a physio is all part of Jack’s approach now and he appears to be keeping on top of the physical issues that have held him back in the past.”

Vodafone, Official Connectivity Partner of Wimbledon, is working with Laura Robson to inspire the next generation of tennis players through Play Your Way To Wimbledon.