«There is a lot of work behind Halle’s victory, not just this year’s. In recent seasons we have done a lot of testing to understand what could work on this surface.” It will not make the scene of a proclamation on the eve of Wimbledon nor does it arouse the curiosity of a long-distance message sent to your girlfriend. In fact, it might even seem like a trivial phrase, but it isn’t. Living in the present, planning for the future and don’t forget the past – this is one of the mantras of Jannik Sinner. This is also why he has not forgotten the sacrifices made to learn to know himself on grass, nor the criticism he received when, in 2021, in his first main draw at the Championships, he surrendered to the Hungarian Marton Fucsovics.
Sinner and early criticism
Then the powders were immediately set on fire, immediate and severe criticism for the strongest twenty-year-old in our history. There were limits on the surface, with 7 matches played between 2019 and 2021 with a pandemic in the middle it would have been difficult otherwise, but the margins for improvement for the many years to come were equally evident; To be honest, there’s no shortage of time even now. Luckily, Jannik is not impressed by what happens outside and his tennis teachers, first Piatti and then the Vagnozzi/Cahill duo, are no different. In tennis, big names dominate media attention, often distorting perceptions of the value of athletes and their progress. There’s everything on the tour: the promising young man who fails to realize a great starting potential, the one who explodes immediately but then gives in when talent alone is no longer enough, and those who, on the other hand, put in years of career but build one piece at a time, arrive. Without forgetting the very young people, currently unknown to most, who within 5 years could compete for the Slams with Sinner, Alcaraz and who knows who else (maybe it will be the case of the 15-year-old Dutchman Thijs Boogaard, or maybe not).
Sinner, the improvement is in the details
Let’s go back to Sinner, because when you look down on everyone, everything becomes a matter of details and of obsession; the one who pushed Djokovic to improve their serve after dominating the 2011 season, or that allowed them to Nadal to excel even off clay. «When I move on the grass I don’t feel safe, then if you slip two or three times you lose even more confidence», Sinner thus explained his difficulties on grass after the defeat against Fucsovics. In the following two years, Wimbledon reached a quarter-final and a semi-final, both lost at the hands of Djokovic. If the path wasn’t enough he has already enriched himself with the title of Halle, which made him the 17th player currently active to have won on all surfaces.
Jannik’s progress on grass
An all-round improvement that starts from the aforementioned movements: Jannik learned to move better and to slide on the grass, all while playing with great pace near the baseline, which allows him to be aggressive. These are the fruits of growth on a physical and athletic level, an aspect that the South Tyrolean often underlines. Then there they are the serve and the volley, essential shots even on the slowest grass of our times and beyond. Service continuity now allows you to maximize the yield of subsequent shots and obtain many direct points. The propensity to score and a more educated hand in every stadium in the world allow him to materialize the rhythm and power impressed from the baseline. Then there is what Jannik already had as the answer, which almost always allows him to play the point, and one mental strength which makes him practically untouchable in the match (in Madrid not even his hip knocked him out) and allows him to train every day with the same willpower. He knows how to dominate like a championbut it’s the same good at suffering and finding the winning path, a characteristic that made the Fab Four special. At the end of Wimbledon he is already certain that he will remain number 1, but Sinner doesn’t want to know about the rankings and predictions. The only goal is to get to play for the title on Sunday 14 July, the same day as the European Championship final. Three years ago it happened to Berrettini at Wembley; this time we would have to split our time between London and Berlin but for our sport it would be just as nice to relive a Sunday like this.
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