Former French Open champion Adriano Panatta has attacked most of Jannik Sinner's rivals, saying the world No. 1's matches are boring because they do not know how to beat him.
Sinner was presented with a trophy at the ATP Finals for finishing as the year-end No. 1. The 23-year-old has been the most dominant player by a comfortable margin and holds a commanding lead at the top of the ATP rankings.
Carlos Alcaraz is the only man to beat Sinner multiple times in 2024. The Spaniard triumphed at the Indian Wells Open and the French Open before outlasting Sinner in a thrilling China Open final.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, and Daniil Medvedev managed one narrow victory each against Sinner in 2024, but in general, the Italian's rivals have struggled against him throughout the year.
The ATP Finals are proving that point once again. Sinner started with an easy win against Alex de Minaur. That was followed by another straight-set triumph against Taylor Fritz, who also lost the US Open final in straight sets to the world No. 1.
Although Sinner's consistently high level deserves respect, many of his victories are so routine that fans might not be very engaged in those matches because the outcome feels like a foregone conclusion before it starts.
While Alcaraz is an incredible player, analysts like Rennae Stubbs point out that he can wander mentally and that his shot selection is sometimes questionable. That unpredictability means that even the matches the 21-year-old wins often have more ebbs and flows.
Sinner is far more ruthless and efficient in dealing with opponents, especially those not close to him in the rankings. That ability has created comparisons to Novak Djokovic, whom this year's Australian Open champion defeated in their three meetings in 2024.
1976 French Open champion Pannatta spoke bluntly about many of Sinner's rivalries on the Italian show Le Demonica Sportiva, feeling they have no idea how to beat him and felt the match against Fritz at the ATP Finals was boring.
"Sinner played a normal and routine match and that was enough for him. It’s boring. At the moment, Jannik can only lose against [Carlos] Alcaraz or maybe [Novak] Djokovic."
"He can stumble against [Alexander] Zverev, but that won’t happen to him against [Daniil] Medvedev. They seem to have absolutely no idea how to beat him. They’re already starting to lose.I almost want to change the channel because the outcome is so predictable."
Panatta, despite being an Italian who wants Sinner to win his matches, hopes the final of the season-ending tournament is between Alcaraz and Sinner since that contest promises to be more unpredictable.
"I hope there will be a final between Alcaraz and Sinner. That would be the only really hard-fought match of this tournament.Does he feel pressure? Never. He doesn’t even feel his blood pressure. It must be high 100 and low 70."
Alcaraz lost his opening match against Casper Ruud but bounced back by defeating Andrey Rublev. That was a notable achievement after struggling with an illness that caused him to cancel a practice session on Tuesday.