'Sinner Not Like Alcaraz': Federer's Former Coach Highlights Sinner's Gradual Improvement

| by Evita Mueller

Jannik Sinner has been the rising star in recent months, and according to former ATP player Ivan Ljubicic, he's a bit different than Carlos Alcaraz.

Alcaraz and Sinner have solidified themselves as the two best young players. Holger Rune is also right there, but he's been lacking a bit recently, pushing them to the forefront.

There are similarities between all three of them as they all prefer to play aggressive and attacking tennis, but the trajectories are different. Alcaraz had a dramatic rise in the sport, which surprised many.

Sinner has been around for longer than him but has had a steadier rise, which possibly lies in the way they operate. While Alcaraz is quite explosive, Sinner needs steps, according to former Roger Federer coach Ivan Ljubicic, who spoke to Tuttosport.

I immediately believed in his chances. Jannik is not like Alcaraz, who went from #40 to #1. He needs steps. I think what he has done in the last two months, the confirmation of hard work, has brought him closer to the goal. He needed certain experiences to feel comfortable on this path.

Wawrinka Finishes 2023 Season As Oldest Player In Top 100
Wawrinka Finishes 2023 Season As Oldest Player In Top 100

Sinner definitely made a step forward this year. He's been a good player who was improving for a while but this year finally saw him take that next step, which he demonstrated best against Djokovic. He bested him twice in a few weeks, which simply doesn't happen by chance.

One important thing for Ljubcici was finally playing big matches against big players regularly. Those experiences are extremely valuable for any tennis player because that's the level you aspire to be at. It allowed him to lead Italy to the Davis Cup triumph.

At the end of 2022, I said that I regretted that Jannik had not played important matches against the biggest players. Now he has nothing more to learn. He started by winning his first Masters 1000, then he beat all the world #1’s. He reached the final in Turin & lost it because he was very tired after a difficult semi‐final against Medvedev. But when he left the court, his mind was already on the team & the Davis Cup.

Raducanu Forced To Play Australian Open Qualifying Due To Insufficient Ranking
Raducanu Forced To Play Australian Open Qualifying Due To Insufficient Ranking

Read the full article

Just in

Look at more articles