First Ball Forehand

Ex Roger Federer’s coach analyzes why Jannik Sinner skipped Paris Rolex Masters

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Jannik Sinner was forced to skip the Paris Rolex Masters due to an intestinal virus contracted in recent days, also to avoid compromising the end of the season that will see him protagonist first at the ATP Finals in Turin and then at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga. Sinner’s desire is to arrive at the year-end Masters in the best possible shape, considering it imprudent to take to the court in Paris-Bercy in less than optimal conditions.

Ivan Ljubicic talked about the young Italian’s decision, considering it a wise choice, speaking to Sky Sport: “Sinner plays if he is 100% fit and can win the tournament, otherwise he decides not to play. He did it with the Olympics too. In his reasoning it makes sense, the primary objective of this end of the year are the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup. He absolutely wanted to play, but he wasn’t well and it didn’t make sense to slow down his recovery. The decision is the most logical one.”

Motivating his withdrawal from Paris-Bercy, Jannik explained: “I’m not able to play, I’m sorry. I arrived in Paris very early to prepare for the tournament, but I caught a virus that will pass in two or three days. My body is not ready to compete, I’m very sorry. We’ll see each other here next year.”

Roger Federer’s former coach had already talked about Sinner, a few days ago with Sky Sport, that time trying to analyze the rivalry with Carlitos Alcaraz, explaining: “He reminds me of myself throughout my career, that’s what I’ve done consistently for many years, playing fast tennis, taking time away from my opponent, suffocating him in a certain way. This year he’s been so consistent that it’s really, really impressive. The numbers speak for themselves, right now Jannik dominates. He has double the points of Alcaraz even though they’ve won two Slams each and this gives a sense of his absurd consistency, which is the sign of great champions. Jannik and Carlos are very different as players, in character and in the type of game: Jannik is more consistent and if we talk about the rankings he’ll be ahead of Alcaraz in many aspects; maybe he doesn’t have the spectacular shots of Alcaraz but he has almost perfect tennis. Jannik is such a humble guy, he wins a tournament like Shanghai beating Djokovic in the final and raises his arms as if to say ‘tomorrow is another day and we’ll start again. With this mentality he got where he got.”

Ljubicic also predicted that Carlitos will not be Jannik’s most dangerous opponent at the ATP Finals: “Sinner is the big favorite at the Finals in Turin, also because Alcaraz still has to convince me indoors. His level is very high outdoors, but when he plays indoors he suffers. In Turin he suffered a lot last year, especially from a mental point of view. Let’s see if things will change. If we want to look for someone who is closer to Jannik, I would say Alexander Zverev. But Jannik, without a doubt, is the big favorite.”

Meanwhile, Brad Gilbert, Coco Gauff’s former coach, expressed on Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal from Paris-Bercy, taking a clear position on a regulatory aspect that he would like to see modified, explaining. In fact, after Jannik’s withdrawal due to the virus that struck him, it was the Frenchman Arthur Cazaux – eliminated in the qualifiers by Fabio Fognini – who took his place in the draw. And since the ATP number 1 benefited from a bye in the first round, the French lucky loser entered the draw directly in the second round, without playing the first round. According to Gilbert, this is an anomaly and a rule that needs to be changed.

“When a top seed withdraws, I would like the draw to be changed, even if it has already been done. In the case in question this week, Jannik Sinner withdraws and allows a lucky loser (Arthur Cazaux, in this case, ed.) to directly access the second round of the draw. I would instead put a seed between 9 and 16 who has not yet played at the time of the withdrawal in question in the first spot at the top in this case to better balance the draw,” he wrote.

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