Greg Rusedski has a slight concern about Jannik Sinner and the potential heat at Wimbledon this year.
Sinner really struggled in that regard at the recent French Open, where he suffered a shock exit in just the second round.
He has already bettered that result at Wimbledon, having knocked out Miomir Kecmanovic and Nuno Borges, in five and three sets respectively.
But former ATP player Rusedski is slightly worried about the Italian superstar ahead of the second week of the Grand Slam.
How concerned are you about Jannik Sinner’s physical issues going forward in his career?
Greg Rusedski concerned about Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon heat
Speaking on his Off Court podcast, Rusedski issued his verdict on Sinner as he looks to defend his title at Wimbledon.
“For me when you are a great champion and you are not playing your best and you find a way to win, still in three sets, that is a good sign,” he said.
“The concern I have for Sinner is that week two, the temperature goes hot. Really hot like it was last week.
“By then he will probably be in the fourth round and be flowing, he will be ready to go, but the question marks will be can he manage the heat and the temperature?
“That is the thing I think he is most fearful about. Also he is not a natural grass court player, even though he has won Wimbledon.
“It’s the surface that has taken him a bit more time to get used to. I am not concerned about his tennis, every round he is going to get better. He is going to build like [Novak] Djokovic has done in the years past.
“He had such an incredible run losing only one match in Paris and winning every single Masters series, barely losing games and sets. You are going to have a little dip but he is going to have a little rebound.
“Be careful when you talk about him not in a positive light and he’s still winning, all of a sudden he is going to hit form.
“But for me second week we are going to find out if he’s found a solution to the heat problem.”
London experienced extreme heat in the days leading up to the start of the action, but temperatures have since cooled.
However, another heatwave could be declared in the UK in the coming days, which isn’t exactly welcome news for Sinner.
Jannik Sinner claimed to be adopting approach used by Rafael Nadal
Sinner now turns his focus to Jenson Brooksby in round three of the tournament, where he is the top seed.
But again it seems that he cannot escape the discussion surrounding his issues in the heat, which have also been highlighted by Patrick Mouratoglou.
The former coach of Serena Williams, who is also playing at Wimbledon this year, said on his Instagram: “Jannik is almost unbeatable.
“The only thing that can stop him is the heat and the length of the matches. If he solves these two problems, he’s unbeatable.
“When I saw this first round in Wimbledon, I was really surprised to see so much doubt. Missing for him is the thing that tells us ‘Ohh, something’s wrong’.
“When he said ‘We changed a little bit how we practice’, people imagine, ‘Wow, maybe he did crazy things’.
“No, no, no. I think the only thing he did, he practiced at peak hours and he practiced long. It reminds me of Rafa [Nadal].
“When the clay season was starting, I was in Monte Carlo, the court was booked from eight to 12 every morning.
“Rafa was doing four hours in a row. Why four hours? Because the match can last five. I think that’s what Jannik did.
“He just decided to go for longer and in the heat, and I think that’s the exact right thing to do. I still think he’s the huge favorite.”
It’s quite the comparison, although four-time Grand Slam champion Sinner still has an extremely long way to go to emulate 22-time champion Nadal.
He is, however, already halfway there in terms of Wimbledon success, with the Spaniard having won the grass-court event twice in his glittering career.
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