Tracy Austin says Jannik Sinner has adjusted his game so well during his historic Masters streak, but one threat still hovers over him heading into Roland Garros.
The world No 1 became the youngest men’s player ever to win the career Golden Masters after beating Casper Ruud 6-4 6-4 in the Italian Open final on Sunday.
Sinner joined Novak Djokovic as the only player to complete this feat, but the Italian did it aged 24, whereas the Serb was 31.
The four-time major winner has now won all five Masters 1000 titles in 2026, two of which have been on hard court, and the other three on clay, during a 34-match win streak.
Sinner is aiming to complete the career Grand Slam at this year’s French Open and is heavy favourite to do just that, especially as defending champion Carlos Alcaraz is injured.
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The defending Wimbledon champion did show signs of exhaustion during his gruelling three-set semi-final win over Daniil Medvedev in Rome.
And that was in much colder conditions. If the temperatures shoot up in Paris, two-time Grand Slam winner Austin thinks there could be a problem for Sinner.
She said on Tennis Channel, “He [Sinner] got the weather again today, kind of low 70s (21C) because it seems like the heat and the humidity have been Jannik’s kryptonite.
“So he got the rain the other day. He was already winning but he was still really struggling and breathing heavily. We haven’t seen that from him this tournament. He looked like he was great against [Andrey] Rublev. And then today (Sunday), everything was perfect. It was meant to be.”
The 6ft 3in player has shown in the past that when the temperatures soar, he can struggle. Sinner had to retire in the humidity of Shanghai last year against Tallon Griekspoor and had it not been for a cooling break at the Australian Open, Eliot Spizzirri would have likely knocked him out in the third round.
Incidentally, Sinner, who became the first Italian to lift this title in 50 years, is nearly 3,000 points ahead of Alcaraz in the ATP Tour rankings and right now, there doesn’t seem anyone capable of challenging him at Roland Garros.
Indeed, the fact that he is winning on different surfaces, with varying conditions, does not bode well for the rest of the field.
Austin added, “He’s won indoors in Paris last year and then he goes to Indian Wells. As Jannik said yesterday in his press conference, it’s bouncy and then he said it’s flat in Miami and then it’s slower in Monte Carlo and then there’s altitude in Madrid.
“I mean, all these different conditions. It’s incredible. He adjusts his game, adjusts himself mentally. These are really taxing moments normally on the nervous system. You just get fatigued and he just keeps getting up.”
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