1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek, who played Pete Sampras several times, thinks Jannik Sinner is more difficult to beat than the 14-time Grand Slam winner was.
During his illustrious career, Sampras won seven Wimbledons, five US Opens, and two Australian Opens. He once held the record for the most Grand Slams before Roger Federer overtook him at Wimbledon in 2009.
Although all parts of Sampras' game were strong, his formidable serve and excellent volleying were the most significant reasons he became a tennis legend. That style meant he perfectly suited the fast courts at Wimbledon in the 1990s.
Sinner, who received a trophy at the ATP Finals for finishing this season as the year-end No. 1, has a different style based more on consistent and intense hitting from the baseline.
An interview Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz did together at the ATP Finals demonstrated how different the Italian's game is from Sampras'. When asked to select one shot he would not take from Sinner, Alcaraz chose his rival's volley.
Although Sinner's volley is undoubtedly his worst shot, getting him up to the net is very difficult due to the Italian's speed and quality baseline hitting. Alcaraz possesses a superb drop shot and is one of the few players who can exploit the 23-year-old's weaker net game.
Sinner dominates so much against most players that former French Open champion Adriano Panatta says his matches are boring because other men on the ATP Tour have no idea how to beat him.
There are often debates about the quality of different eras in tennis history, but Krajicek has no doubts that Sinner's tennis is better than anything seen in the 1990s.
In an interview with Super Tennis TV, Krajicek outlined how Sinner has no weaknesses, while even a legend like Sampras had a backhand that Krajicek felt he could target during matches.
"Beating Sinner today is more difficult than beating Sampras when I was playing. Sampras was an incredible player but I knew that if I could attack him on the backhand I would have a chance to beat him. Everyone can do everything and moves very well. I look at them and think: if I played now, how could I beat them? Today Sinner has no weaknesses."
"When I played, even the best had weaknesses: the backhand for Sampras, the serve maybe for [Andre] Agassi. I went on court and had the feeling that I could beat anyone, even Sampras who I defeated six times."
Krajicek also highlighted how players now have longer careers and better teams around them and admitted he was happy he played in the 1990s when the level of tennis was not what it is now.
"They all manage themselves differently. Players have longer careers, have better teams, and in general are much more complete. Let’s say I’m happy to have played in the 90s."
Hopefully, Sinner and Alcaraz can keep raising the standard of tennis over the coming years and attract new fans to tennis.
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