John McEnroe warns Jannik Sinner: "E' the'only"

John McEnroe has no doubts about Roland Garros: “It seems clear to me: it’s Sinner against everyone. Jannik is overwhelmingly favored. He and Alcaraz belong on another level, and it’s terrible for tennis that Carlos can’t play in Paris and Wimbledon.” For McEnroe, the only opening for opponents is weather-related: “The only chance I can give Sinner’s opponents is if it stays this hot for a long time, a situation he suffers a little bit. I think a physically strong player who can take advantage of the extreme weather conditions could put him in trouble.”

Even in the most complicated moments, however, Sinner always finds a way to prevail: “We saw this in Monte Carlo and Rome: Jannik was struggling against Machac and Medvedev, but then he won. The only chance you have is to play 30-shot exchanges and try to overwhelm him. I wonder: are there any players who can do that right now?”

According to McEnroe, interviewed by La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Italian’s leap in quality stems from continued growth: “Jannik has relied on a very high-level team, with two great coaches, and he’s a great worker: in fact, every year he adds something to his game.” And again, “I think Jannik’s real secret over the last couple of years lies in the fact that he is really happy playing tennis.”

When asked how he would have tried to deal with him in his better days, McEnroe smiles, “Boy, compared to the speeds of now I used to play in slow motion….” Then he goes into tactical details, “I would try to move him to the corners, be very aggressive in response, vary the pace with the short ball, try to attack him when he was far from the baseline, because the first step on clay is more complicated and therefore the passer is less accurate.”

Despite Sinner’s dominance, McEnroe still glimpses some possible outsiders: “Without Alcaraz the race for the final on the other side of the scoreboard has opened up. Zverev however always gets to the bottom, Djokovic beat Jannik in Australia, but you have to see how 39 years old can affect him, Ruud on clay is very solid again. Everyone, though, to have any chance with Jannik, has to play the match of a lifetime.”