Sinner found himself playing second fiddle to Carlos Alcaraz at last year’s US Open as he struggled on serve, but he has upped his game in that particular area and eight months later he appears to be unbeatable.
The Italian is on a 26-match unbeaten run as he has won five consecutive ATP Masters 1000 tournaments this year with his run starting at the Sunshine Double in March when he won the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open.
He continued his incredible form at the Monte Carlo Masters, Madrid Open and Italian Open and, having won the Paris Masters last November, he is the first man to win six consecutive Masters events.
An important aspect of Sinner’s form has been his serve as he has a serve rating of 301.8 for the past 52 weeks.
According to the Infosys ATP Stats Leaderboard, the world No 1’s first serve percentage is 63.1% and he wins an incredible 80.4% of points on first serve. His second serve percentage is a little lower at 59.2%, but incredibly, he wins 93.1% of points on second serve.
It is easy to see why former world No 1 Becker rates him as “the best” in the business.
“Last year, especially in the US Open final, his serve was a weakness. Now it’s become a strength. If you look at the stats, he’s the best server in the world,” the six-time Grand Slam winner said during a Eurosport press conference.
“That’s a huge advantage, because it allows him to win his service games quickly and conserve energy. He’s improved a lot in that area.”
But it is not only Sinner’s serve that’s bad news for his opponents, as the German believes the four-time Grand Slam winner’s also very impressive when he is on defence during rallies.
“I saw him play live in the semi-finals in Rome. The power of his shots has improved even more. His confidence helps him with this, but so does his technique,” Becker said.
“He stays very close to the baseline. He’s learned to defend better without staying on the defensive. He seeks closer contact with the baseline because from there he can dominate the rallies. Even when he’s pushed into a corner, he always manages to find a way back into the point.”
Then there are the Sinner slides and there is no doubt the 24-year-old’s love for skiing has turned him into one of the best on the ATP Tour.
Becker added: “Another thing I’ve noticed is that no one slides on the court like Jannik Sinner. It’s as if he were skiing. No other player has this sliding technique. His background as an excellent skier is certainly a benefit. This combination of footwork and sliding is incredibly effective.”
