Jannik Sinner may have one issue that could impact his chances of winning Roland Garros this year.
Sinner made tennis history at the Italian Open, extending his winning streak to 29 consecutive matches.
As a result of winning five titles in a row, Sinner is the huge favorite to win Roland Garros this year and complete the Calendar Slam, particularly as his biggest rival Carlos Alcaraz is missing the tournament due to injury.
Six-time doubles Grand Slam champion Rennae Stubbs has also been full of praise for Sinner, but she has also raised one concern about the world number one.
Rennae Stubbs tells players what they need to do against Jannik Sinner at Roland Garros
When speaking about Sinner’s title victory at the Italian Open on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, the Australian claimed that he has no holes in his game and spoke about the improvements he has made to his game in recent years.
However, after Sinner struggled against Daniil Medvedev in the Italian Open semifinal, where he took a medical timeout for what appeared to be cramp, Stubbs admitted she does still have some questions over his physicality.
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Stubbs then suggested that players should try and make matches more physical against Sinner at Roland Garros, as he has struggled with this in the past.
“You have to look at Alcaraz and look at Sinner…they don’t have holes, there’s just nowhere to go with Jannik Sinner,” said Stubbs.
“He moves as well as anyone has moved, especially for someone of his size. His serve is awesome, he doesn’t have a hole in the backhand or the forehand wing, he can hit the slice, he can come to the net, he has improved that transition into the net so much, he’s implementing the forehand drop shot like Alcaraz on clay, he’s varying the speed of his shots, there’s just nowhere to go.
“So if these guys do want to, the [Rafael] Jodar’s and the [Joao] Fonseca’s and all these guys, they have holes still in their games, so it’s going to take them at least a year or two to really iron those out, as it did for Jannik Sinner. A couple of years ago…[Alexander] Zverev beat Sinner at the US Open in straight sets and it’s because he had a couple of holes in his game. Whether it’s physical, mental and then all the parts.
“And that’s the thing, to build a perfect and a great, great, great tennis player, you have to have no holes and that’s what Jannik Sinner has right now.
“Not only that, he actually believes more in himself and that is the key, because I think early on in his career, because he’s kind of a placid guy, he’s kind of very quiet, he’s an introvert, I think it took him a long time to actually believe he was great and I think he’s at that point now where he knows he’s that great, and to not have a hole in your game makes you feel this way and then the mental side of it.
“Now, the only question mark is the physical, because it happened in Australia and it happened in the match against Medvedev, where there was some queries about his physicality. That would be the only thing and if I was playing against him, that’s what you have to do and then maybe, maybe you can wear him down, but certainly there has not been many that have been able to do that over the last couple of years.”
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Who is Jannik Sinner playing at the Roland Garros this year?
Sinner now knows his draw ahead of his bid for the Roland Garros title, with a first round match against French wildcard Clement Tabur.
The first seeded opponent that Sinner could face is another Frenchman in Corentin Moutet, who he has won both of his previous matches against and beat at Roland Garros in 2024.
Some of the other seeded players in Sinner’s half of the draw include Felix Auger-Aliassime, Ben Shelton and Luciano Darderi, who he has a combined 15-3 head-to-head against.
Sinner’s forecast final opponent is Alexander Zverev, who he has won his last nine matches against, including four meetings this year.
The world number one could also face Novak Djokovic in the final, who beat Sinner at the Australian Open earlier this year.
Sinner is just days away from beginning his campaign at Roland Garros, where the main draw starts on Sunday, May 24.
