Jannik Sinner Predicted To Be 'One Of The Greatest Players We Have Ever Seen'
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Jannik Sinner's game has been given a ringing endorsement by 1987 Wimbledon champion Pat Cash, who thinks the ATP world No. 1 will be one of the best players in tennis history.
Sinner won his third Grand Slam in the last 12 months at the Australian Open after beating Alexander Zverev in straight sets. He also secured last year's Australian Open and US Open titles, meaning he has won the previous three hard-court Grand Slams.
Zverev, who lost the final resoundingly in straight sets, compared Sinner's game to Novak Djokovic afterward. The Italian responded by calling it a great compliment and thinks there are differences and similarities between him and the tennis legend.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Cash is confident that Sinner will be one of the greatest players in the sport's history and did not rule out him already being among the best tennis has ever seen.
"Sinner, if he’s not already, is going to be one of the greatest players we have ever seen. He is in an era where we have just lost a whole bunch of champions – so how many Grand Slams can he actually win?"
The Australian then mentioned Sinner's incredible hard court record in the last 12 months and believes the Italian did not have to play near his best to defeat Zverev in the Australian Open final.
"Jannik Sinner is almost unbeatable on hard-court, isn’t he? Didn’t he lose just one match last year on hard-court or something like that? (Sinner lost three hard-court matches in 2024). His record is ridiculous."
"He is so quick, he can move around the court with ease, he can hit big powerful shots. It wasn’t a great match for spectators but he did what he needed to do. I think Sinner’s level was pulled down by Zverev’s performance tonight."
While it is fair to say that Sinner and Zverev's Australian Open final was not among the best in Grand Slam history, the three-time major champion still produced some outstanding shot-making that demonstrated why he is the best hard-court player in the world.
Cash also discussed Zverev in his appearance on BBC Radio 5 Live. He identified some areas the German could work on but praised him for recovering strongly after suffering a horrific ankle injury in the 2022 French Open semifinal against Rafael Nadal.
"Alexander Zverev is a very good player so it is frustrating, but I think we have to reflect on how far he has come since ripping his ankle to pieces [in 2022]. That is one heck of an effort."
"He has got himself back to where he was, after missing a lot of tennis, and has got himself up to speed very well. He has been in two Grand Slam finals, so what is the next step?"
"Perhaps he needs to finish points off, volley better and work on his forehand. That forehand just broke down today, like it has on so many occasions, so there are more areas to work on."
Zverev admitted after the final that Sinner does everything better than him except the serve and did not sound confident about his chances of beating him in the future. However, he may have been speaking in the heat of the moment.
