Jannik Sinner lauded by Italian legend as he continues dominance: 'Difference with everyone else is huge'

Jannik Sinner is continuing his dominant run in men’s tennis, and now the world No.1 has received massive praise from Italian legend Adriano Panatta, who believes the gap between Sinner and the rest of the players is “huge.”

Sinner is currently enjoying a strong period on tour, especially with Carlos Alcaraz sidelined due to a wrist injury. The Spanish star has withdrawn from the Barcelona ATP 500 and is also expected to miss Roland Garros, where he was supposed to defend his title. His absence has opened the door for Sinner to strengthen his hold at the top of the rankings.

Panatta hails Sinner’s consistency

Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Adriano Panatta praised Sinner’s ability to stay at a very high level throughout matches and tournaments. He added that even when Sinner's level looks slightly down, he always finds ways to return to his best and dominate opponents.

"Let's say that it is very difficult to lose. His strength is not only technical: compared to all the others, he manages to maintain a very high continuity of performance much longer. Of course, he also sometimes plays at 60-70%, but how long does it last him? A few games, maybe a set, but in the end he comes back to hammering and wins, even when he's tired," Panatta said.

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"Did I say that Carlos Alcaraz is stronger than him? No, I was misinterpreted: I said that Alcaraz is one hundred percent the only one who can beat Sinner one hundred percent. And anyway they belong to a category of their own, the difference with everyone else is huge," he added.

Sinner in record-breaking form in Rome

Sinner beat Norway’s Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 in the Italian Open final on Sunday to complete a sweep of all nine ATP Masters 1000 titles, becoming only the second player after Novak Djokovic to achieve a career “Golden Masters”.

World number one Sinner, who had lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the tournament's final last year, finally captured the elusive title on home soil on his seventh attempt, clinching his fifth ATP 1000 title of the year.

Sinner became the first Italian to win the men's singles title in Rome since Adriano Panatta in 1976, hours after Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori won the men's doubles, the first Italian pair to do so in 66 years.

(With agency inputs)