Beating Jannik Sinner has proved to be one of the most daunting challenges in tennis over the last couple of years, but former British No 1 Tim Henman believes the blueprint to beat the Italian has been revealed.
Sinner heads into a big month of action at the ATP tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami, with the world No 2 set to be presented with a great chance to close the gap on his big rival Carlos Alacarz in the rankings.
After winning two Grand Slam titles for the last two seasons, Sinner has started 2026 with a couple of disappointments after he lost against Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semi-finals and was they beaten by Jakub Mensic in the Qatar Open.
Those defeats have sparked some observers to suggest Sinner’s rivals are uncovering an effective game plan against him, with Henman suggests the route to success against Sinner is easy to describe and very difficult to execute.
Speaking exclusively to Tennis365 at a Sky Sports event in London, the four-time Wimbledon semi-finalist believes Alcaraz, Djokovic and Mensic highlighted what is needed to beat the reigning Wimbledon champion.
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“The way to play Sinner is very easy when you talk about it. Your serve aces and you hit winners,” said Henman, speaking exclusively to Tennis365.
“That is easier said than done, of course, and the reason there is a gap between Alcaraz and Sinner is their level is so consistently high.
“What we saw at the Australian Open was the difference between Alcaraz and Sinner in their two matches against Novak Djokovic.
“Sinner has been the best player on hard courts for the last couple of years and even when Djokovic was pushing him, he didn’t change his game. He backed himself to win and he came up short.
“He tried to fight fire with fire and was just going for it. If anything, that played into Djokovic’s hands.
“Then you look at the final against Alcaraz and when Djokovic wins the first set 6-2, you are thinking maybe this can happened and Grand Slam No 25 is coming for Djokovic, but Alcaraz did have the variation in his game to change his tactics and he turned the match around.
“He started playing with more hight on the ball, used his slice backhand and found a way to win.”
Tim Henman with Tennis 365’s Kevin Palmer
Former British No 1 Laura Robson also spoke to Tennis365 about Sinner, as she laughed off suggestions the Italian is struggling after his two defeats in 2026.
“Everyone would love to have a Sinner-style crisis,” Robson told Tennis365 in an exclusive interview at a Sky Sports Tennis event in London.
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“I think we all just read too much into every result those guys have if they lose because it happens so infrequently. It’s like the world is ending. I’m pretty sure they will be just fine.
“He went straight to America after losing in Qatar to get ready for Indian Wells and I’m sure he will be fine when he gets on court again.”
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