Jannik Sinner is simply unstoppable on the ATP Tour at the moment.
Sinner made history at the Madrid Open on Saturday by becoming the first player ever to win five consecutive ATP Masters 1000 titles.
Can anyone stop Jannik Sinner at the Italian Open?
If so, who?
The Italian dominated Alexander Zverev in the final, beating the German in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2 to hoist the trophy.
Since his quarterfinal exit at the Qatar Open in February, Sinner has not lost a match on the ATP Tour, and looks to be the overwhelming favourite heading into the Italian Open.
Following his triumph in Madrid, former American players Tracy Austin and Steve Johnson had high praise for the world number one.
Tracy Austin and Steve Johnson react to Jannik Sinner’s victory
Speaking on Tennis Channel, Johnson said of Sinner: “He’s not close to his prime.”
Austin replied: “He’s not close to his ceiling because at 24, they’ve gone about it systematically to improve.
“He’s not even looking pushed. I mean, in and out of the corners we thought, okay, clay, maybe that was a surface that he wasn’t as comfortable on.
“Well, now he wins Monte Carlo, wins here in Madrid, has never won in Rome. Maybe that could test him.
Can any of these four players stop Jannik Sinner winning the French Open this year?
Is there anyone else you think could be a threat to Sinner?
“As a tennis player, to see somebody control the court with this much power and make it look so easy with spin, he’s added the drop shot, the serve has got bigger, closer to the lines. It’s all good. It’s all moving forward.
“He doesn’t look fatigued mentally either. He doesn’t look tired like, oh, maybe I should take Rome off because I played so much leading into Roland Garros. Nope.
“I thought one interesting thing this week was when Fils talked about having to get used to the power and the weight of the shot from Sinner. And he’s played a lot of top players in the last three months.
“But he said that was what was so difficult. And the weight of the shot means the spin and the speed combination. And you just don’t feel like you can do enough with the ball aggressively.”
Steve Johnson says tennis needs Carlos Alcaraz back
“He just suffocates you,” continued Johnson when discussing the lopsided scoreline against Zverev.
“I mean, he moves like prime Novak, maybe a bit better. He hits the ball like Rafa. And the margin that he has is small.
“He doesn’t seem to miss. He doesn’t hit himself out of matches. We need Carlos back. Bottom line is, we need Carlos back.”
Carlos Alcaraz’s wrist injury will see him sidelined for both the Italian Open and Roland Garros.
The Spaniard was set to defend 3000 ATP points at the two tournaments, having won them in 2025.
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