Jannik Sinner has been having a whirlwind couple of weeks in which he has again established himself as the player to beat. He breezed through Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo, winning all sets but one along the way. By doing so, he became only the second player, after Novak Djokovic, to win the aforementioned sequence of tournaments in the same season. He also became only the third player to win four straight Masters 1000 events, after Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, having won the Paris Masters in November last year.
Will Jannik Sinner Surpass Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal?
Record Chasing Jannik Sinner
During that remarkable run, he didn’t just match records but set a few of his own. He set a record for consecutive sets won, running from the Paris Masters through to Monte Carlo, where he lost a set to Thomas Machac, bringing his tally to an outstanding 37. For context, the previous record holder was Djokovic, who amassed a run of 24 sets won. This shows that Sinner not only broke the record but also completely obliterated it.
Now we head to the next Masters tournament, where Sinner will again be looking to set himself apart from everyone else by becoming the only player to win five consecutive Masters events. Novak Djokovic, as it always seems to be, his name, comes up whenever records are being discussed, won five Masters titles consecutively, twice, in fact. He did so in 2011, having won the Indian Wells Open, Miami Open, Madrid Open, Italian Open, and Canadian Open, and again in 2015-2016, winning the Paris Masters, Indian Wells, Miami Open, Monte Carlo, and the Italian Open.
However, in 2011, he missed Monte Carlo, and in 2016, he missed the Madrid Open, meaning that, while he himself won five consecutive Masters, they were not consecutive. This probably helps to highlight the difficulty of the feat. And that is exactly what Jannik Sinner is trying to achieve. His chances of doing so received a considerable shot in the arm following a number of high-profile withdrawals of players who would have been considered the most likely to put a considerable dent in his title charge.
A Depleted Tournament
The last few days have seen a few withdrawals, headlined by his greatest rival and most likely to stop his charge, Carlos Alcaraz. Novak Djokovic, who knocked him out in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, is another huge loss to ATP Madrid as the Serbian continues to struggle with a shoulder injury that has restricted him to only two tournaments this season. Other notable absentees are Holger Rune, Taylor Fritz and Sebastian Korda. It makes Sinner, who was probably the favourite anyway, now an overwhelming favourite to win the title and set yet another record.
Going into the tournament, the only doubt about his chances of achieving the feat was whether he would even compete. Such is his dominance lately. However, he has now confirmed his participation in the Spanish capital. How pivotal that decision proves to be will be revealed in a matter of days. After winning the Sunshine Double, there were similar concerns about whether he would play Monte Carlo and whether it was wise to do so. In the end, he decided to, which proved to be a great decision as he went on to win the tournament and reclaim the #1 raking in the process. If he does go on to win Madrid, he’d stand alone, surpassing two of the greatest the sport has ever seen in Nadal and Djokovic.
The Big Picture
While he may very well go on to win at the Spanish capital, there is no doubt that, as we draw closer to Roland Garros, that remains the title he wants the most, probably more than any records. He would have to weigh how his exertions in the coming weeks affect his chances of clinching the Coupe des Mousquetaires, with the Italian Open in Rome still to come. However, it must also be pointed out that because he has mostly breezed through the competition in recent weeks, as pointed out, dropping only one set, it has not been as physically demanding as it could have been.
The Italian will now be hoping for more of the same as he begins his Madrid Open campaign, especially with such a depleted field. Very few will be betting against him doing so, and with the way he’s been playing, it’ll take a brave man to do so anyway. If he goes on to do so, he would no doubt enter Roland Garros as the favourite, where he would hope to change his story and complete his career slam, after a harrowing defeat to Alcaraz in the final last year.
Whatever happens, it does feel like an interesting few weeks ahead for the man who increasingly seems to be chasing records whenever he plays.
Main photo credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images