Del Potro doesn’t mince words about Jannik Sinner

Former Argentine tennis player Juan Martin Del Potro, winner of the 2009 U.S. Open, in an interview with AFP explained the only possible recipe for young tennis players to be able to get to the level of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, the two current leaders of the movement.

Del Potro for years has tried to contend with the Big 3: “During the era of the Big 3, very few have been able to win besides them. And today I think very few can beat Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner: they have won the last nine Slams and seem a step above the rest.”

“Before I beat Roger Federer for the first time, I lost six times to him. The same against Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic,” the Argentine explained. “You have to face them, lose several times and, little by little, learn to understand them and gain confidence.”

Del Potro managed to beat Federer in the final of a Slam: “At the US Open I realized a childhood dream by beating Federer in the final. He had won the tournament five years in a row and everyone expected the sixth. I came in at 20 years old and broke that streak: it changed my career and my life.”

Del Potro’s message is mainly addressed to Joao Fonseca: the Brazilian tennis player lost his first matches against Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in Indian Wells and Miami. According to many insiders, he is the tennis player who can contend with the Blue and the Murcia champion for future Slams.

Fonseca has been a topic of discussion in recent days because of his comparison between Sinner and Alcaraz: “I think Alcaraz has a wider repertoire than Sinner. Jannik is more like a robot who just hits the ball flawlessly. Carlos, on the other hand, can do it all. He can use topspin, shoot with power, has good movement, goes to the net. It is more difficult for him to play.”