Paolo Bertolucci does not trust Novak Djokovic and alerts Jannik Sinner
Paolo Bertolucci returned to write in the Gazzetta dello Sport on the day of the Roland Garros semifinal between Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic: “The last three precedents do not lie: Jannik Sinner’s pace and power have become a mountain too high for Novak Djokovic to climb, who in fact lost there in the Davis Cup in 2023, in Australia and in Shanghai in 2024. Of course, the experience and charisma of a giant who is now playing his 51st Slam semifinal, has won three times at Roland Garros and of the Parisian clay now knows every grain, cannot be underestimated, not least because these battles are ideal terrain for a warrior like Nole. But at 38 years of age, one day is never the same as another, and the Serb, in the tournament, was on court three hours longer than Jannik, who therefore will have a great advantage in terms of athletic freshness”.
“By now it is unthinkable, from a physical standpoint, that Nole can hold prolonged exchanges against the strongest hitter on the circuit, who maintains hellish speeds with every run and keeps pushing from the back until he finds the right angle to nail his opponent. That’s why I expect Nole to mix things up from the start to escape the possible asphyxiation of Sinner’s accelerations, offering the No. 1 ever-changing balls for cuts and spins, with heavy use of bunts and some serve and volleys to shorten the exchanges. In front, however, he will find a Sinner who, compared to Rome, has made remarkable progress in every aspect of the game, finally shaking off the rust of disqualification and returning to his usual standards”.
“In Rome, Jannik was obviously still convalescent, but those matches served him well to regain his feeling for the ball in a competitive context, then the week of training in Paris and the initial path to the tournament gave him back the technical confidence he needed to raise his level progressively. Perhaps at times he still struggles to find the right impact position on the court, showing how the clay remains the most hostile surface for him, but the engine of his perfect machine is back roaring at full speed. Jannik in the first five games has served 65 percent first balls while getting 80 percent points, a key foundation to build the platform with which to thwart Djokovic’s vague hopes. If Jannik immediately imparts an unsustainable pace to the exchanges, even at the cost of giving away a few more free errors than usual, even a defensive monster like Nole will have no weapons to counter”.
