John McEnroe has admitted that he was left a little surprised by Jannik Sinner and what he failed to recognise during his US Open final defeat.
It was a strange affair between the top two male players in the world.
Whenever they meet, fireworks are usually expected. And yet, for whatever reason, this final has left an odd taste in the mouth, and left some wanting more.
After all, there was little jeopardy involved. Whoever broke first in each of the four sets then went on to win that set.
There was no pushback, and most of that was due to the ruthless serving of Alcaraz.
However, John McEnroe admitted that Jannik Sinner did not help himself in this regard.
John McEnroe left surprised by Jannik Sinner’s game plan vs US Open final
Especially given how his serving stats faltered, just as Carlos Alcaraz peaked.
It created a perfect storm for the Spaniard, who cruised to victory without really having to deliver his very best tennis.
Speaking mid-way through the match, live on ESPN, McEnroe admitted: “He gets in his head. And in some of it’s obviously Alcaraz, you know, his return game, and then he’s forced to go bigger on the second.
“I’m a little bit surprised he hasn’t backed off [on his first serve] a little bit to get the percentage up, to be honest. He’s [only] hit two aces the entire match.”
Sinner served just two aces to Alcaraz’s ten in the match, and double-faulted four times. His opponent did not double-fault once.
What did Jannik Sinner say after losing the US Open final?
This was not the only critique levelled at the five-time Grand Slam champion, with McEnroe emphasising what Sinner did worse than he ever had before during the final elsewhere.
However, despite the nature of this loss, he remained magnanimous in his post-match on-court interview.
The former world number one admitted: “First of all, I would like to start with Carlos and the whole team, you are doing amazing. Congrats. I know it was a lot of hard work behind this performance today, where you were better than me, so congrats. Enjoy it. It is a great moment.
“Then of course, my team. Thank you for supporting and understanding me. For working hard, we all know how much dedication we put in to be at this stage. We know it has been an incredible season. A lot of big stages and matches we have played throughout the season, and I’m super happy to share this moment with you, my family which is home and all the people I love.
“I tried my best today, I could not do more. So thank you for the support.”
