Jessica Pegula makes a drastic prediction about Jannik Sinner

Jannik Sinner has catalyzed the attention of the entire tennis world after the incredible records he is setting in recent months. The Azure has won six consecutive Masters 1000s, an unprecedented feat, and now he is set to compete in Roland Garros as the big favorite, due in part to the absence of his arch-rival Carlos Alcaraz.

At The Player’s Box podcast, U.S. tennis player Jessica Pegula summed up well the common opinion towards the world number one, who seems unstoppable: “I can’t know what’s going to happen in the future, but I would say I can say he’s going to win, period. It’s just crazy what he’s doing right now, I really have no words.”

“Now that Carlos Alcaraz is injured, I think he’s going to clean up for a while,” is the drastic prediction of the American player, who admitted, however, that she saw Sinner struggling in the semifinals in Rome: “He didn’t play great, he looked like he was throwing up. He was winning in the third set, but at the beginning of the second he seemed to be struggling. He looked nervous, maybe he felt anxiety because Rome was the only major tournament he hadn’t won yet. He’s Italian and everything, and maybe he felt some pressure.”

Sinner at 24 has already won 10 Masters 1000s in his career, and is seventh on the all-time list, behind and Pete Sampras (11) and ahead of Carlos Alcaraz (8). There is no shortage of voices urging caution. Tennis legend Mats Wilander has warned Sinner ahead of Roland Garros, singling out the physical factor as the South Tyrolean’s main point of vulnerability: “I think the only thing that can prevent Jannik Sinner from winning in Paris is the other 127 players. Somehow, they have to get on the same page and decide, ‘Even if I have to lose this match against Jannik, I have to push him to the limit of his physical capabilities'”.

The Swede added that the expected heat in the French capital could prove to be a determining factor: “If he were to string together three or four really difficult matches, if he was unlucky and faced the wrong opponent on a very hot day and the match went on for a long time, how would he recover for the next one?” Of the potential obstacles, Wilander specifically mentioned Daniil Medvedev: “In an evening session in Paris he can be tricky, because the court is a little slower and his shots have little effect, almost no effect. They are heavy balls, and that can put Sinner in trouble.”