Jannik Sinner has a real issue that was exposed at the Australian Open and could cause him to fall behind Carlos Alcaraz

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Jannik Sinner could be at risk of falling behind in his rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz.

Sinner was beaten by Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Australian Open, in his first defeat at the Melbourne major since 2023.

While it is by no means a disgrace to lose to the 24-time Grand Slam champion, it has exposed a real weakness of Sinner.

This weakness was only heightened after Alcaraz beat Djokovic to win the Australian Open title.

Jannik Sinner could be at risk of falling behind Carlos Alcaraz

Sinner led Djokovic by a set on two occasions throughout in their semifinal, before eventually losing in a fifth and deciding set of their four-hour and nine-minute match.

The Italian failed to take any of the eight break points he had in the fifth set, but it was actually the length of the match that provided the alarming statistic against a 38-year-old Djokovic.

This was the eighth time that Sinner has played a match lasting over three hours and 50 minutes, and he is still yet to win one of them.

However, Alcaraz, who beat Sinner in the French Open final last year in five hours and 29 minutes, has won 12 of his 13 matches that have lasted over three hours and 50 minutes.

Sinner cannot always rely on winning matches in straight sets at Grand Slams, and this is something he really needs to put a lot of focus into ahead of the French Open this year, where matches are the most likely to go longer than any other major tournament.

This could be very challenging for him to achieve though, as Grand Slams are the only tournaments where matches can realistically go this long and Sinner is so used to brushing past his opponents in very little time on the ATP Tour.

What is Jannik Sinner’s overall record in five set matches?

While Sinner has never won a match that lasted over three hours and 50 minutes, he has actually won six five set matches.

This still gives the world number two a negative record in matches that have gone the distance at majors, but it really shows that the issue for Sinner is the length of matches rather than the number of sets.

Whereas Alcaraz has only ever lost one five set match, and has won his last 12 consecutive matches that have gone the distance.

Considering that most of Sinner’s five set matches are likely to be against the better opponents in the latter stages of Grand Slams, this is all very alarming.

Sinner’s fitness has never really come into question before, but perhaps he is trailing behind the likes of Alcaraz in terms of his preparation for the most physical matches.