Jannik Sinner is perhaps the man to beat at the ATP Finals this week, which is now underway in Turin, Italy.
Alexander Zverev is trying to catch Sinner, having overtaken Carlos Alcaraz as the ATP Tour number two before the event.
But the Italian is well out in front, and got his ATP Finals off to the perfect start with a straight sets win over Alex de Minaur.
Sinner has a good ATP Finals draw, with the world numer one also set to meet Taylor Fritz and Daniil Medvedev in the group stages.
He does, of course, also have home advantage, with the Turin crowd undoubtedly wanting a Sinner victory.
Grigor Dimitrov’s coach reveals their Jannik Sinner game plan
The Italian will want to be avoided at all costs in the latter stages, but a journey to the final does seem very likely.
But his fellow opponents have now potentially been given the ideal insight into how to overcome Sinner on the court from Grigor Dimitrov’s coach Jamie Delgado.
“One thing that we tell him [Dimitrov] and it’s very difficult to do but if you let Jannik Sinner dictate in rallies you are in a lot of trouble,” Delgado said on Sky Sports Tennis. “The key is to try and mix up the play and get him in areas of the court he is not as comfortable in.
“He has actually improved coming forward with short, little slice shots and you have to play aggressive as well. Someone like Carlos, who has beaten him a couple of times, does play aggressive and does vary it quite a lot.
“I think that’s the only way. It’s very difficult to do, of course, as Jannik hits the ball so hard – you find yourself defending a lot of the time.”
What is Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz’s head-to-head record?
Defending is often very much the name of the game against Sinner, whose power is perhaps second to none on the tour when he is in his groove.
Alcaraz has, however, managed to outmanoeuvre the Italian in recent times, with the duo set for a lengthy and exciting rivalry for many years to come.
But the Spaniard will be glad to have avoided Sinner at the ATP Finals, with Alcaraz instead taking on Casper Ruud, Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev.
Sinner and Alcaraz have enjoyed many fantastic battles in their brief careers so far, with the latter boasting a six-four ATP win-loss record over the former.
The Italian did, however, overcome the Spaniard for the ultimate prize at the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia last month.
And while Dimitrov has done his utmost to overcome the young star, it is Sinner who leads their head-to-head four-one.
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