Jannik Sinner has made some significant improvements to his game in the past two years.
Sinner won his first Grand Slam at the 2024 Australian Open, and he has since gone on to win four major titles.
On his rise to the top of the sport, Sinner has become one of the best servers on the ATP Tour, something that was previously not the case.
Sinner also made some other improvements after losing in the US Open final, and Francisco Cerundolo has explained what he thinks has been the biggest change for the Italian.
Francisco Cerundolo recalls his matches against Jannik Sinner
World number 21 Cerundolo has played Sinner six times, with the latter leading their head-to-head 4-2.
This has included two victories over the Argentine this year, with Cerundolo’s last win over Sinner coming at the Italian Open in 2023.
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When speaking about Sinner in an interview with Tennis365, Cerundolo has claimed he has no weaknesses and spoke about how much his physicality has improved in longer matches.
“In 2023, he was like number five or number six in the world and now, obviously, he number one or number two, so it is very different,” said Cerundolo. “He had no weaknesses, no holes.
“I played him in Rome this year and it was close. This was his first tournament when he came back after his suspension and I had a little more time to think on the court and try to create something.
“Then I played him on Paris indoors on a hard court and he was unbeatable. I was playing good, but I lost the first set 7-5 and then it was 6-1. Honestly, I felt like I was playing good and you get one game in the set.
“He is always there. His serve is amazing, his return is incredible and then with the points at the baseline, he hits the ball really hard and you have no time. I didn’t know what to do in Paris.
“He has improved a lot. Two years ago, maybe physically he was not so good and if you played long matches and long points, he was missing some balls. Now he is not missing anything.”
Cerundolo was then asked how you can beat either Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz, which very few players have done this year, to which he admitted that there is a very slim chance this can happen now.
He answered, “To beat them (Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner), I have to play perfect and they have to play a little bit bad.”
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Jannik Sinner’s record in five set matches
Although Cerundolo has praised Sinner’s physicality, he actually has a negative record in five set matches, which has worsened in the past two years.
Sinner has only won five of his 15 matches which have gone the distance at majors, and only one of his four since 2023.
Although this does not look good on paper, two of Sinner’s three five-set defeats at majors since 2023 have been against Alcaraz, with the other coming against Daniil Medvedev at Wimbledon in 2024.
This includes Alcaraz beating Sinner in the thrilling French Open final earlier this year which lasted five hours and 29 minutes.
| Jannik Sinner’s record in 2025 | |
| Up to and including 2023 | 4-7 (36.4%) |
| Since 2023 | 1-3 (25%) |
| Overall | 5-10 (33.3%) |
It is important to note that Sinner no longer plays many five set matches anymore, as he often wins very convincingly in straight sets.
As he looks to try and improve his record in five set matches, Sinner will begin his 2026 season at the Australian Open.
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