Adriano Panatta drastic on Sinner-Djokovic, then rages on tennis player: "Did you see that?

Adriano Panatta in the podcast “La Telefonata” with Paolo Bertolucci analyzed the quarterfinal match between Jannik Sinner and Ben Shelton at the Australian Open 2026: the Azzurro won clearly and without argument over the American in three sets. “Shelton improved a lot especially from the baseline, instead when he goes to the net… Sometimes he would hold 5-6 shots from the baseline, then he would try an improbable short ball or come forward and play a volley in the middle of the court, and Sinner would easily pass him”.

Luca Franzosi

Panatta also made a half-hearted prediction about the upcoming semifinal between Novak Djokovic and Jannik: “Djokovic is a crazy champion, he used to be unreachable. Instead against Musetti, l’ve seen him a little bit’ elderly… Sinner pulls harder, let&#8221s expect an Alcaraz-Sinner&#8221 final, are the clear words of the ’former Italian tennis player. According to Panatta, the’other semifinal between Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz could be more close: “If Zverev serves well, it could be a good match, if he serves normal, he loses three sets to zero”.

Adriano Panatta then spoke about Coco Gauff, whom he had criticized in the past at the end of the Rome tournament: “A year ago I was accused for saying that she did not express great tactical intelligence. What did she do in the last match? She did not put a ball on the court. The smashed racket in the locker room? I saw it, but l’ve all done that”.

Sinner spoke this way ahead of the semifinal against Djokovic: “It is one of the toughest challenges in our sport. As I said on the court, it’s great to have Djokovic at a level like this, still very high. In a Slam it’s always tough against him. Let’s see what will happen, things have changed, of course, but I as a person remain the same. We go day by day, one opponent at a time”.

“I want to use the day off in the best way: it can go good or bad, it is part of tennis. I don&#8217t want to put extra pressure on myself at the moment. I am happy to be here and to play a semifinal again in Australia, which is a special place for me. We hope for a great match”.