Andre Agassi explains what Jannik Sinner does on a tennis court that makes it ‘unbearable’ for his opponents

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Jannik Sinner has made a winning start to his French Open campaign after beating Arthur Rinderknech in the first round.

Sinner returned at the Italian Open, reaching the final before losing to rival Carlos Alcaraz.

Being the world number one, Sinner is one of the French Open favourites and is expected to go deep in the tournament.

However, there was a hurdle thrown in the way after Sinner was handed a tricky draw, but he has made a positive start in Paris.

Andre Agassi explains what Jannik Sinner does on a tennis court that makes it ‘unbearable’

Sinner extended his winning streak at Grand Slam tournaments to 15 matches after beating Rinderknech, 6-4 6-3 7-5.

This included winning five consecutive games from 5-2 down in the second set, with Sinner hitting a total of 28 winners.

Even ahead of Sinner’s first round match in Paris, eight-time Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi explained what the Italian does that makes it so uncomfortable for his opponents.

“What Sinner does on a tennis court is some of the most epic ball striking I think the game has ever seen,” Agassi told TNT Sports. “He can absolutely bludgeon the ball and he is only hitting it at 85%.

“I think that is probably what I respect the most about Sinner’s game. While he can do more, he chooses not to and his discipline of playing controlled aggression makes him unbearable to deal with for multiple hours on a tennis court.”

Sinner will now move onto play another Frenchman, this time against the retiring Richard Gasquet in what could be the last match of the ATP Tour veteran’s career.

Andre Agassi reveals what he loves about Carlos Alcaraz

It is not just Sinner that Agassi has been impressed by, with the former world number one also praising Italian Open champion Alcaraz.

Agassi has played alongside Alcaraz at an exhibition event at the US Open before, and suggested that the Spaniard is like a combination of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

“I love watching Alcaraz because he brings such passion to the game,” said Agassi. “I love his competitive spirit, I love his firepower.

“He has the RPM’s of Rafa, the defensive skills like Novak. It is all tied up into one person who is trying to take all these strengths and express it in an organised way which is impossible for him to do but he can win anyhow.”

Alcaraz comfortably beat Giulio Zeppieri in his first round match, and now faces Hungarian Fabian Marozsan.

This could be a potential obstacle in the way of the defending champion, as Marozsan has a previous victory over Alcaraz on clay that came at the Italian Open in 2023.