Jannik Sinner continues to reaffirm his status as the best hard-court player in the world, having brushed aside Frances Tiafoe earlier today.
In doing so, he reaches the semi-finals of the Miami Open without dropping a set. In fact, the Italian has won his last 28 sets at Masters 1000 events, which is just a testament to his continued excellence.
Martina Navratilova and Tim Henman were unsurprisingly enthused by such a dominant display, and, speaking live on Sky Sports, sought to consider a way for any player to trouble him on this surface.
Martina Navratilova gives players advice on how to trouble Jannik Sinner
The analysis was kicked off by the 18-time Grand Slam singles champion, who has been a regular admirer of Jannik Sinner and his ruthless play style.
Navratilova began by claiming: “He frustrated Frances, he just couldn’t get anything done well enough to bother Sinner.
Can anyone stop Jannik Sinner from winning the Sunshine Double?
“He just came out, broke that first game, and that was all she wrote. It’s hard to find an opening against him; everything has to be just right, he’s got all the answers at the moment.”
Henman then added: “He certainly has, he’s so confident, the start… You need to build a bit of scoreboard pressure, and again, all these things are easier said than done, but if you drop your serve in the first game, then Sinner is immediately even more comfortable than normal if that’s possible, because he’s looking so cool, calm, and collected, he’s got the answers for everything out there, and you just feel like you’re trying to push water uphill to begin with, but then if you’re down a break in the first set, it’s going to be tough afternoon at the office.”
Navratilova concluded by trying to propose a solution for players on how to possibly trouble Sinner.
She suggested: “So many times you have to win the point not once, but twice. Sometimes even three times, so ‘You’ve played a great point, do it again!’, maybe they do it one more time, then they miss the next three shots.
“He’s always in the plus, winners, unforced errors, he forces the other guy to go for too much, then that ratio goes up in smoke, and he’s just sitting pretty. He has got the big reach, moves so well for a big guy, and does a lot on full stretch on the forehand and the backhand, especially the backhand. He can still hit an offensive shot out of a very defensive position.
“I think the only way you can really bother him is bring him on the diagonal, hit that short slice backhand for a right-hander, to his backhand, then try to go down, deep, the other line, but it’s hard to find that angle.
“Frances tried a lot of different things, but nothing was good enough today.”
Navratilova has spoken about who might challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner in the years to come, but in the form they are both in, it’s a prediction that seems wholly unlikely.
Jannik Sinner completes a feat that no other tennis player has ever achieved before
Sinner’s excellence is outlined by the number of consecutive sets he has won.
However, with his latest straight-sets victory, beating Frances Tiafoe 6-2, 6-2, he has actually now accomplished a feat that no player has ever accomplished before.
Will Jannik Sinner overtake Carlos Alcaraz and become world number one? 🤔
If so, when will he do it?
In a statistic published by OptaAce, they write: “Since the Miami Open’s inauguration in 1985, Jannik Sinner is the first player to claim 14 consecutive Men’s Singles match wins at the Sunshine Double without conceding a set. Clinical.”
Clinical is the perfect word to describe Sinner at the moment, who seems unstoppable at the moment as he closes in on completing the Sunshine Double.
