Jannik Sinner 'Wants To Eat Everyone Alive' According To Former No. 1

Sunday, 18 May 2025 at 16:15

byErik Virostko

Jannik Sinner sent a clear message to his opponents at the 2025 Italian Open, which the former World No. 1 player, Justine Henin, noticed as well.

Sinner has won every tennis match that he played this year. The Italian started by winning the Australian Open, and after a three-month break because of a suspension, he continued his winning streak at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome.

At the start of the tournament, it was clear that the World No. 1 player needed to find his footing, even though most of Sinner's wins were really impressive, considering the circumstances. However, one of his wins stood clearly above the rest.

Sinner beat Casper Ruud 6-0, 6-1 to reach the semi-finals of the tournament. Ruud is one of the best clay-court players of this generation, having played in two Roland Garros finals. It was a demolition of the Norwegian player, and the win impressed even Henin.

The former WTA World No. 1 player spoke to TNT Sports, analyzing Sinner's performances in Rome. According to her, it's clear how much the Italian worked on his tennis during the suspension, and she also thinks that his win over Ruud was a message for the rest of the Tour.

"He's clearly worked incredibly hard physically in recent weeks. He's coming in so fresh. What's incredible is finding his bearings so quickly and in this way. He's picking up on everything. He's picked up on all the signals, everything he could improve on, with great intelligence, since his first match in Rome."

"The message he's sending is that he wants to eat everyone alive. It's going to do everyone good... or it's going to scare everyone."

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After beating Ruud, Sinner recorded another impressive win, even though this time, the impressive part was his comeback. The top seed lost the first set in his semi-final match against Tommy Paul, but rallied back to win 1-6, 6-0, 6-3. The comeback is something that he was happy about after the match as well.

"You know, I need this kind of matches. I'm happy with how we handled this kind of situation, especially going to court and not feeling great. I felt like Tommy was playing some great tennis in the beginning."

"I changed a little bit tactically, which then helped me to go through the second set. Third set, I just tried to start off in a very positive way, which I've done. Then he broke me back. Then there was this game on 3-2, which was the most crucial game of the match, I felt like."

"I'm happy. Happy to be here in the final. It's great coming back and making the final here in Rome. It means a lot to me. So let's see what's coming Sunday."

Sinner will play in the final of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome against Carlos Alcaraz, who also beat most of his opponents without too many troubles.