Alcaraz and Zverev Haven't Made Hay While Jannik Sinner Has Been Away

Forbes

03-04-2025

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 26: Jannik Sinner (R) of Italy consoles Alexander Zverev (L) of ... More Germany at the Men's Singles trophy presentation following the Men's Singles final during day 15 of the 2025 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 26, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by)
When Jannik Sinner returns to tennis in the Italian capital at the Masters 1000 event after his three-month doping suspension ends on May 4, he will still be at the top of the rankings. Having time off, however unplanned, can make the best player in the world look even better than the rest.
Sinner's suspension was the result of a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency in February over his two positive drug tests at Indian Wells on March 10 last year and then out of competition eight days later. WADA had originally aimed for a two-year suspension for the World No. 1 but accepted that the player 'did not intend to cheat' and that the substance offered no performance-enhancing benefit. There were cries of a rotten system and in its recent lawsuit against the tennis authorities, the PTPA has belittled the current system as unfit for purpose.
The net result is that the 23-year-old is free to return to the ATP tour on his own patch in a month. The Italian's absence presented his nearest rivals with a real chance to close the gap numerically and mentally. It's safe to say they have failed on both counts.
Carlos Alcaraz won the Rotterdam Open on the same day Sinner's ban commenced and looked set to stack up some much-needed ground on his follow Next Gen graduate. Alcaraz and Sinner look destined to dominate the Slams, having shared the last five between them.
However, after losing to Jiri Lehecka in Qatar, Alcaraz hit a roadblock at the Sunshine Double. He lost to Jack Draper in the semi-finals at Indian Wells and then fell to Belgian veteran David Goffin in Miami. The resounding parting shot was not the defeats, but the 21-year-old's admittance that he was mentally wounded and genuinely more worried about the opponent (Draper) than his own game.
Novak Djokovic was making good sounds and good points in Miami all the way up to the final when he succumbed to a man almost half his age in Jakub Mensik. The 37-year-old was gracious in defeat and as competitive as he could be on the court when fighting an eye infection and the long haul wait for that 100th title. His resigned air in the press conference felt like a man who had too much to juggle to cross over the line first. Djokovic is only interested in the Slams number now. It was progress at least.
It was the same story last fall at Shanghai when Sinner beat Djokovic for the fourth time in the last five meetings. 'I think I played some really good tennis. Obviously congratulations to Jannik, he was just too good today, too strong, too fast,' said the 24-time Slam winner in the post-match comments. Add to that consistency. If ever there was a metronome of equanimity in shot-making and mental approach, the baton has passed from the Serb to the Italian. His level rarely drops as he demonstrated in the Australian Open, going virtually unthreatened at the business end of the tournament by winning the last 11 sets.
Alexander Zverev, the beaten finalist at Melbourne can win Masters events but the big ones are too big for him at the business end. In the emotion of his defeat on Rod Laver Court, the German openly admitted that he wasn't good enough to win in Australia - or Wimbledon, New York and Paris by extension. While Sinner graciously and genuinely comforted him at the time, there is no escaping the fact that the 27-year-old has demons that will be difficult to dismantle after three Slam final defeats.
Zverev lost to Tallon Griekspoor at Indian Wells as the top seed. The Dutchman hadn't beaten a top-five player in 18 previous attempts. At Miami, the German was downed by Arthur Fils who also psyched him out in a fiery Hamburg Open final last year. Zverev has admitted that there are problems 'with a bit of everything' in his game currently.
The Italian is not one to savour other's misfortune, but the path to a big Slam number is opening up. Now that Daniil Medvedev has dropped out of the current top 10 rankings, there are seven players in there who have never won a singles major. The clay is not his best surface, having never won a major ranking event on the red dust. Where there's work to be done, Sinner will do the hard yards.
Statistically, Sinner has a huge 2,685 ranking points lead over Alexander Zverev, while Alcaraz is 3,610 points behind. The forthcoming Monte Carlo Masters and the subsequent Madrid Open get the clay court swing underway with a combined 2000 points up for grabs for the winner. Alcaraz and Zverev have won the latter twice, but never the former.
BEIJING, CHINA - OCTOBER 02: Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Jannik Sinner of Italy poses with the ... More winners trophy after the Men's Singles Finals match on Day 10 of the China Open at National Tennis Center on October 02, 2024 in Beijing, China. (Photo by)
As for the doping furore, Jannik Sinner's sanctuary has been the tennis court and there is no reason to believe that he won't be as effective when the return to action happens. 'Rome wasn't built in a day' reads the famous proverb. The groundstrokes and groundwork were years in the making.