Watching Jannik Sinner dominate from the comfort of your living room is one thing — but witnessing him up close on the red clay of Roland Garros is a completely different experience. His presence on court exudes calm intensity, and his precision in execution is even more intimidating when viewed from mere feet away.
Thanks to an exclusive invitation by the TNT Sports team, Tennis365 got an enviable courtside seat in their Roland Garros box, placing us just inches from the action — and, quite literally, Sinner’s towel. Each time he paused to wipe away sweat, his composed gaze and mental stillness under pressure were clearly visible, offering rare insight into the psyche of the world’s top-ranked player.
We had front-row seats for his clash against French veteran Richard Gasquet — a match that marked the curtain call of Gasquet’s illustrious career. And if the Frenchman had been unsure about stepping away from professional tennis, facing Sinner likely confirmed that the game has moved into a new gear.
Sinner’s brutal baseline play and relentless pace were overwhelming, underscoring why he’s lifted three Grand Slam titles since breaking through in Melbourne at the Australian Open in early 2024. But what’s striking is how he’s raised the bar even further following his return from a three-month doping suspension — a period that seems to have sharpened rather than hindered him.
Physically, Sinner has filled out; the lanky frame of his teenage years has given way to a more robust, athletic build. That added strength now fuels his already formidable groundstrokes, turning each hit into a missile. His straight-sets dismissal of Gasquet was followed by a demolition job on Jiri Lehecka — 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 — as the Italian stormed into the fourth round in Paris without breaking a sweat.
From our close vantage point, the sheer violence of Sinner’s stroke play was mesmerizing. He generates power and spin at a pace that seems beyond the reflexes of most on tour. While the Big Three — Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic — defined an era with their own distinctive strengths, none of them, as it stands, consistently hit the ball with the kind of venom and laser-sharp accuracy Sinner delivers point after point.
But it’s not just raw power that sets him apart. His footwork, court positioning, and timing — especially his habit of taking the ball early and often on the rise — add layers of difficulty to his shotmaking. He’s constantly stealing time from opponents, forcing rushed reactions and off-balance returns.
Even on return games, Sinner wastes little time sitting back. Though he starts deep, he transitions swiftly to the baseline and holds his ground there like a fortress, driving the ball into corners and angles that leave rivals scrambling. His roots as a former elite skier show in his lateral movement — slick, swift, and always balanced, even during high-speed exchanges.
Against both Gasquet and Lehecka, Sinner barely looked out of position. Give him an inch of time and space, and he’ll take a mile — striking winners with clinical precision. His racket head speed is so extreme it seems to blur on slow-motion replays, almost as if he’s swinging in fast-forward while the rest of the world plays in regular time.
At present, there seems to be just one man who can truly counter Sinner’s heavy artillery — Carlos Alcaraz. The world No. 2 managed to pull off a tactical masterclass against him in the final of the Italian Open earlier this month, using speed, variation, and guile to flip the script.
Former world No. 1 and respected analyst Mats Wilander weighed in on the dynamic between the two young stars, noting Sinner’s blistering ball-striking but also explaining why Alcaraz poses a unique threat.
“The main reason why Sinner struggles against Alcaraz is he is so fast at doing everything,” Wilander told Tennis365 in his role as a TNT Sports analyst.
“The other reason Jannik doesn’t like playing against him he has a big forehand and that can knock you off balance.
“The big thing with Sinner is he strikes the ball so hard and also the way he can strike it early, without making too many mistakes.
“That is too much for a lot of people, but Alcaraz is so quick that he can get to a lot of the balls other players cannot reach.
“When Sinner has a forehand and time to hit it, the other players have to guess left or right to have a chance to get it. Carlos doesn’t have that problem so much as he is super fast.
“I was in the front row watching their Rome final a few weeks back and for the first half an hour, it looked like Alcaraz was struggling to hang with Sinner.
“Then he started to absorb the power coming at him and found a way to swing it in his favour.
“Okay, Sinner could have won the first set of that match and it could have been a different result, but you could see that Alcaraz was getting used to absorbing the pace and when he then got Jannik doing things he didn’t want to do, the match turned in his favour.”
Wilander’s analysis highlights what many observers have begun to suspect — that Alcaraz is uniquely equipped to disrupt the Sinner machine. With seven wins in eleven encounters against the Italian, the young Spaniard appears to have cracked the code that others are still trying to decipher.
Yet outside that rare rivalry, Sinner continues to strike fear into the hearts of opponents. His game is a symphony of controlled aggression — ruthless, rapid, and refined. For now, unless your name is Carlos Alcaraz, facing Jannik Sinner is like stepping into a storm without a shield.