Tennis: Can Jannik Sinner continue his rise on clay?
Twelve titles on hard court, only one on clay. The preference seems clear for Jannik Sinner. The Italian 22 years became number 2 world, Monday April 1, thanks to a thunderous start to the season rich 22 victories, a single defeat and three new trophies. Successes all acquired on hard courts, synonymous with fast play. Victorious in Miami (United States) on Sunday March 31, he immediately turned his eyes to the clay court tour that opens on Monday April 8 with the Masters 1000 of Monte Carlo.
“The clay season is coming. Usually I struggle. Let’s see what I can do this year,” he said at the press conference following his victory in Florida, specifying that Roland-Garros was his main objective.
On the professional circuit since 2018, Jannik Sinner has never done better than a semi-final in the three Masters 1000 on clay (in 2023, in Monte-Carlo) and only a quarter-final at Roland-Garros (lost in 2020 against Rafael Nadal). Last year, he fell in the second round at Porte d’Auteuil. In his career, his winning percentage on clay stands at 68.2%, far from the 77% on hard.
Like many others, Jannik Sinner only had a handful of days to adapt to the slowest surface on the circuit. In addition to Monte-Carlo and the French Grand Slam, the transalpine right-hander ticked off Rome, a “really, really important tournament” for him. “I feel like I learned a lot of things from last year that I can do better. Physically, I’m in a different shape than 2023 and clay is a very physically demanding surface. So let’s see how that goes is going to happen.”
For Arnaud Clément, tennis consultant for franceinfo: sport, the absence of results from Jannik Sinner on clay – apart from his title at the tournament in Umag (Croatia) in 2022 – is “a small anomaly”, more than proof that the player is allergic to the ocher surface.
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