Tim Henman has rated Alex de Minaur’s chances of success against Jannik Sinner later today, as they clash in the ATP Finals.
With a 12-0 losing record, many would be forgiven for not giving the Aussie much hope.
After all, despite a few tight matches, almost all the others have gone the way of the former world number one, with some being particularly one-sided.
For Alex de Minaur, this occasion could either see him rise or wilt, whereas we know what we will get from Jannik Sinner, who has already won this competition once before, reaching the finals another time too.
Despite this, Henman still does not hold out much hope, but did point out one area of positivity that the 26-year-old could latch onto.
Tim Henman expects a tough afternoon for Alex de Minaur
Naturally, Henman is seemingly backing Sinner for success later today. Few would ever bet against the indomitable Italian.
However, when speaking live on Sky Sports last night, he was asked to put himself in the shoes of the De Minaur camp and propose a potential game plan to tackle arguably the toughest task in tennis right now.
Is Jannik Sinner currently the best player in the world?
He did not respond with any form of positivity though, instead noting: “It’s tough. You break down their games, and you know, Alex de Minaur is absolutely maximising everything he’s got.
“But I think, you know, Sinner serves better than him, you know, forehand and backhand, Sinner hits the ball harder, is more aggressive. Movement, I’ll probably give to De Minaur, but Sinner’s moving extremely well. Confidence, matchup; it could be a tough, tough afternoon.”
Henman told De Minaur how he can trouble Sinner earlier this week, but now it seems like even he doesn’t believe in that game plan anymore.
What Alex de Minaur has said about losing to Jannik Sinner in the past
Naturally, with such a one-sided rivalry, De Minaur has endured plenty of crushing losses against this one opponent.
As such, he likely knows better than most just how impossible it can often be to trouble a player of his relentless quality and physical stature.
Speaking after losing to him in his home country at the Australian Open, the fear factor surrounding Sinner was clear to see as De Minaur admitted: “Yeah, I mean, he’s built this aura up from beating everyone. Like, that’s the thing about it, right? It’s not like he’s just had a good week here or a good week there. He’s just beaten everyone.
“I think the best way to describe it is the fact that he was able to, I don’t know if it was last year or two years ago, play Novak here and play pretty flawless, and, again, give him not too many games, right? Novak out here is probably the best player to have ever played on these courts, right? The fact that he’s got this top level that he can do this to players, it’s pretty tough.”
If he is ever to start clawing this head-to-head record back, he needs to start playing with complete freedom and attacking the 23-year-old rather than reacting to what comes his way.
However, if Henman’s comments are anything to go by, even that might not be enough.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
