2024 could well be the year of Jannik Sinner. That’s the belief and sentiment that’s reverberating largely around the tennis world at present. Fueling the prediction game further, a former top 10 player from Austria affirmed in an recent interview with Tennis365 that Sinner might knock off Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open this year. However, there is a small catch.
Barbara Schett is a former WTA World No. 7, who has now joined thousands of fans, in believing that Sinner is finally getting to a solid position in his career. Unlike John McEnroe, who believes Grigor Dimitrov might win it, Schett’s beliefs are based upon the twin victories of Sinner over Djokovic at the ATP Finals 2023 group stages and the Davis Cup 2023 semifinals respectively.
Sinner’s form especially towards the end of the 2023 season was remarkable. For the first time in his career, he made it to the semifinals of Wimbledon. He won the Masters 1000 title at the Canadian Open, defeating Alex de Minaur in the final. Thereafter, he also beat World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz and World No.3 Daniil Medvedev, two strong Australian Open favorites as well, in China and Austria respectively.
“Sinner has taken a step forward in his career and his tennis in the way he finished the year. I think he has gradually improved. He didn’t burst onto the scene like Alcaraz and just needed a bit more time, but I feel he will get that improvement with a bit more time”, Schett said in an interview with Tennis365.
Despite showing sparks of brilliance, Sinner often ran into tougher, stronger opponents until now. For instance, last year at the Australian Open, he took the lead against Stefanos Tsitsipas, but lost the match after the Greek made a good comeback. Unlike Alcaraz, whose win in the 2023 Wimbledon final against Djokovic stunned the tennis world, Sinner has improved slowly but steadily.
“It is almost like a home Slam for Jannik with Darren Cahill, an Australian, in his camp and I think he can benefit from that. He can beat anyone on his day. This could be the year for Jannik Sinner, but the question is can he win over five sets, for two weeks in seven matches? I think he is ready for it”, Schett added.
The point Schett and perhaps like-minded fans could be missing out on is that Sinner is yet to prove his mettle, especially against top players in best-of-five matches at Grand Slams. Djokovic’s game in Grand Slams rises to another level and he knows the aura and endurance he has, is more than enough to intimidate rivals way younger than him. Plus knowing how to win big matches and finals is something few players know well and Djokovic is one of them because he has won them more than any other player in history.
What could possibly hold Jannik Sinner back?
Sinner’s game is more suited for indoor hard courts since the surface becomes faster. Averaging 1858 RPM in his topspin and 111.2 kmph in ball speed, Sinner is renowned as an ‘aggressive baseliner’ and one of the hardest hitters in the ATP circuit. But with the roof not closing much in Melbourne, Sinner will have to be tactically smarter in outplaying his opponents.
Also just as Schett said, he would have to quickly pick up inputs from his Australian coach, Darren Cahill. Fortunately for Jannik Sinner, Cahill has coached American legend Andre Agassi to multiple Grand Slam wins Down Under in the past. Additionally, Sinner may have a tough draw at the Australian Open 2024 after the third round since he is most likely to face American youngster, Frances Tiafoe or Karen Khachanov in the Round of 16. Should he cross that hurdle, a clash with Russia’s Andrey Rublev or Australian favorite, Alex de Minaur would be on the cards.
As a result, Jannik Sinner cannot be really considered as much of a favorite as Novak Djokovic or even the second favorite to win the title. It is also his mental state that will matter tremendously and his fitness as well, which was tested severely in Paris last year when he decided to opt out of the competition on being asked to play on back-to-back days.
