Jannik Sinner is operating at a completely different level to everyone else on the ATP Tour currently.
Since his quarterfinal exit at the Qatar Open in February, the Italian has not lost a single match and has won four straight tournaments, all of which were ATP Masters 1000s.
Sinner surpassed Novak Djokovic’s record for the most consecutive Masters tournaments won with his fifth triumph in a row at the level in Madrid earlier this month.
With Carlos Alcaraz sidelined due to a wrist injury at the moment, the world number one looks set to continue his dominance at the upcoming Italian Open as well as Roland Garros.
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Several top stars on the tour have been tipped to close the gap on Sinner, including last year’s US Open semifinalist Felix Auger-Aliassime, who said he felt ‘competitive’ against the world’s best player recently.
Felix Auger-Aliassime reflects on his recent match with Jannik Sinner
Auger-Aliassime faced Sinner for the seventh time in his career at the 2026 Monte-Carlo Masters.
The Canadian fell in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, but looked back at the clash positively ahead of his Italian Open campaign.
“I was happy when I engaged in a few rallies with him,” said Auger-Aliassime in an interview with Tennis TV.
“I felt that there were options. I felt that sometimes, yeah, I played a little bit too short, or I kind of missed the execution of my shot, and he took advantage of the point.
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“But I felt that in some of the rallies, I felt like I was competitive. So it was encouraging for me for the future.
“It was frustrating because I felt like I could have done it a little bit better in certain moments of the match.
“But he’s just dominant. I mean, all the words you can think of about how special what he’s doing right now is. And all credit to him, but he does it with such class and respect that you just have to tip your hat.”
Felix Auger-Aliassime says he can ‘do damage’ on clay
Auger-Aliassime has only ever gone as far as the quarterfinals at the Italian Open, but he spoke with enthusiasm about his clay-court game ahead of his run in Rome this season.
The 25-year-old said: “For me, it’s never been a problem of moving in the clay so much. I think I have the athleticism, and I have the footwork and the control of the sliding to play well, but it’s more of a tactical adjustment.
“I play a lot with my serve. The ball has to come back a lot more in clay and I will sometimes maybe make a few mistakes that are due to the ball coming back a little bit more than they do on hard courts or indoors.
“So on clay, you have to accept even when you have a good serve that the ball is going to come back and you’re going to have to engage in more rallies.
“I think when I play smart tactically, and I play the way tennis should be played on clay with my serve and with my game style, I can do damage.”
Auger-Aliassime is seeded fourth at this year’s edition of the Italian Open.
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