Jannik Sinner ends up on Lercio, the all-laughing provocation

Requitable premise: for those who do not know, Lercio is an Italian publication that deals exclusively with satire. It does not publish real news, but made-up articles with the aim of making people laugh and, at the same time, parodying the language and tone of traditional journalism. His style is based on deliberately absurd, paradoxical or exaggerated headlines that mimic those of real news but take them to the extreme.

And just on Lercio today an article popped up titled: “Sinner agrees to be cloned to have an opponent waiting for Alcaraz’s return.” Obviously this is not real news: Sinner has never stated anything of the sort, nor are there any plans to clone himself, but it gives a good idea of what the world tennis landscape is today, with two absolute dominators, one of whom is injured, and with the other who seems to have an easy time with every other player on the planet.

In this vacuum left by his main rival, Sinner comes to the Internazionali d’Italia as an absolute ruler, on the strength of five consecutive Masters 1000s won between Paris 2025 and Madrid 2026, a streak unprecedented in the history of tennis. In Rome, he now has a real chance to break the record for consecutive Masters 1000 wins held by Novak Djokovic, who is stuck at 31: the Italian is at 28 and would only need four to overtake Nole.

Euthoritative voices such as those of former ATP Top 15 Sam Querrey leave no room for doubt: “He is by far the best player in the world. Without Alcaraz, who should beat him? I don’t see anyone capable of stopping him in Rome.” Also certifying the size of the phenomenon are the words of Andy Roddick, a former world number one, who in his podcast pointed out the continuous technical evolution of the South Tyrolean: “It’s absurd to look at him four years ago and then now: the strength, the movement, the serve…now he’s complete. He has added the short forehand bunt and expanded the variations on the backhand. His average level, with which he dominates you from the backcourt, is extraordinary.” A judgment that adds to that of Toni Nadal, Rafael’s uncle and former coach, who, commenting on the Madrid final – which lasted just 58 minutes against Zverev – said, “Sinner made it clear to Zverev that he is superior to him in everything. Jannik is a solid and continuous player, he completely erased Zverev’s confidence.”