Tour de force for Jannik Sinner, now there's one more obstacle: "Huge pressure"

With Carlos Alcaraz out of the picture, Jannik Sinner is the absolute star of the circuit and so far he is living up to predictions by making it all the way to the semifinals of the Madrid tournament: if he wins the title he will become the first tennis player in history to win five consecutive Masters 1000s. Then there will be the highly anticipated home tournament in Rome and then Roland Garros: two tournaments he cares deeply about and has never won, and which he will face without his greatest rival.

That’s where the pitfalls lie, according to former British No. 1 Greg Rusedski: “There’s a lot more pressure and expectation, because everyone says he’s going to win Roland Garros, he’s going to win in Madrid, he’s going to win in Rome, he should win everything he’s competing in now,” he told tennis365.

“Imagine if Alcaraz didn’t show up at Wimbledon. Again, the pressure would be enormous. He would have to win everything and it’s not easy to handle that kind of expectation and pressure. Yes, he is mentally strong, but if you take away his biggest rival, everyone says he should win. The other players also seem to be starting to perform at their best.”

Rusedski is, however, amazed by what the Blue is doing so far: “Incredible, I’ve been watching him all week. When he is tested, Jannik gives his all. He reminds me of Nadal: Rafa uttered this wonderful phrase in 2019, during the US Open final. He said that technically he could make mistakes, but mentally he could not disappear. I think from Rafa’s point of view, that’s what made him so strong. And also from Jannik Sinner’s point of view, his main strength is his intelligence and mental strength.”