Mats Wilander believes that Jannik Sinner is a better role model for young people than Carlos Alcaraz because ‘everyone can play’ like the Italian if they have ‘total dedication’.
The Swede heaped praise on the two men who have shared the last seven Grand Slam titles, including the last two Grand Slam finals.
Sinner and Alcaraz’s most recent meeting occurred in the showpiece match of Wimbledon, with the world No 1 triumphing 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
“I’ve never seen anyone play tennis as aggressively as Sinner,” commented Wilander to L’Equipe.
“It’s not that he hits everything that moves like a madman, it’s that he’s always looking to get the ball early. Some people hit it harder than him, but no one gets to the ball as quickly to play it on the rise, never waiting for it to come back down.
“I think his tennis is five or ten years ahead of what I imagined the evolution of the game would be. A bit like when, in football, for the first time, there was quick one-touch passes: the speed of the game was turned upside down.
“He’s leading the way and will quickly serve as a role model, because not everyone can play tennis like Alcaraz. That requires extremely rare talent. On the other hand, everyone can try to play like Sinner, which doesn’t require exceptional talent in itself, but total dedication.”
Sinner’s victory now brings the Grand Slam tally to 5-4 in Alcaraz’s favour, with the Spaniard also leading the head-to-head 8-5.
However, many of the clashes could have gone either way, including the French Open final in June, where Sinner held three championship points in the fourth set.
“Watching this final unfold, it was hard to believe that Carlos Alcaraz had won his last five matches with Jannik Sinner,” added the seven-time Grand Slam champion.
“And easy to remember that, yes, Jannik should have won at Roland Garros a month ago. There, as here, he was the better player.
“He has improved more than Carlos over the last two years combined, which, consequently, also leaves the latter more room for improvement in the future, particularly in terms of choosing his shots better, sometimes.
“It’s more the emotional or the motivational part that you have someone who is young, who wins basically everything. You have to be ready, no, if you want to keep up.”
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“It was amazing what he [Sinner] has just pulled off,” said John McEnroe, three-time Wimbledon champion, speaking to ESPN after the latest Alcaraz-Sinner clash.
“He was hitting the ball as big as anyone has ever hit it. That is impressive. But it was the way he took it to Alcaraz and got Alcaraz physically discouraged. Imagine how hard that is.”
Sinner and Alcaraz will both return to the tour at the Masters 1000 event in Toronto, which takes place from July 26 – Aug 7.
The post Mats Wilander reveals what separates Carlos Alcaraz from Jannik Sinner appeared first on Tennis365.
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