Andy Roddick has identified how Jannik Sinner is able to neutralize the superpower of Novak Djokovic after their Australian Open clash.
The former World No. 1 has suggested that Sinner’s brute hitting force and ability to change directions on both his forehand and backhand wings have made him a difficult opponent for 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic.
Sinner nearly crushed the legendary Serbian in the opening two sets of their semifinal and after giving away the third set won the fourth to snap Djokovic’s 33-match winning streak at the tournament.
The 22-year-old went on to win his maiden major title by fighting back from two sets to love down against World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev and eventually sealing the deal in 5 sets in the championship match.
Djokovic has now beaten by Sinner in three of their last four matchups as the Italian also defeated him at the Davis Cup Finals and ATP Finals in November last year. Djokovic’s recent Australian Open semifinal loss becomes more remarkable for the fact that it was the first time in Djokovic’s over 400 Grand Slam matches that he didn’t get a single break point.
Roddick speaking on the first episode of the Served with Andy Roddick podcast, provided an intriguing tactical insight into how Sinner has been able to absorb and counter Djokovic’s game so consistently at the big stages.
“Beating the best of all time in two out of three sets versus three out of five is just a different mental animal, and so credit to Sinner,” said the 32-time tour titlist while reviewing the AO with journalist John Wertheim.
“He’s one of the rare guys that has enough firepower – and you have to have the firepower in both hands, on both sides of your body, forehand and backhand – in order to effect Novak in the way that he did.
“I played Novak, I played Rafa, I played Roger. I couldn’t make a dent off of one side of my body (backhand) and had to pay the price for it. You have to be supremely talented on both sides and be able to hit it both directions.
“We’ve talked about Novak’s superpower before, it is getting the matchup inside of the points that he wants by being able to switch directions comfortably. Now he has someone who probably hits the ball harder who can also switch directions.
“Probably not the consistency that Novak has, but Sinner now has two punches that Novak has to respect when they get in the ring. And so Novak knows that, all of those things play into Novak not playing well.
“The match against Sinner was the first time in a long time I saw him kind of searching for an energy source or a motivation source – on top of a matchup that has very quickly become a difficult one for him.”
The 2003 US Open Champion also expressed his pleasure for witnessing Sinner getting rewarded for his hard work and all the efforts he had has made to seal a seminal victory at Melbourne Hard Courts.
“Sinner was the second name on most people’s lips when talking about favourites for the event behind Novak Djokovic. I join the rest of the tennis world in celebrating his success because you feel like he’s really earned it piece by piece,” he told Betway.
“I appreciate how everything has gotten a little bit better every year. He was a little too skinny and would get bullied around sometimes, so he built up his body where he can play five sets without looking winded.
“His serve has gotten 3-4 per cent better each season and his defensive ability is amazing now. He’s also one of the few guys that has knock-out power on both sides – he can take you out on the forehand or the backhand.
“It feels like he’s been a professional since he was 18 years old. You never see him whimper and you never see him complain.
“Credit to his team and coach [Darren] Cahill, and also to him for committing to the process because he’s lost some heartbreakers in Slams but you wouldn’t know it by the way he goes about his business.
“He showed such awareness of the match scenario in his first major final, knowing that Daniil Medvedev had played so many hours of tennis and that one body can only take so much. He looked so composed in the third set even though he had been blown out of the first two. It was very impressive.”