Paul Annacone has coached some of the best players like Roger Federer and Pete Sampras, and he shared his thoughts on how Jannik Sinner can improve on grass.
Sinner’s 12-8 record on grass might not seem impressive, but reaching the Wimbledon semi-final last year shows he’s got potential. His last two Wimbledon losses were to Novak Djokovic, which is no easy feat for anyone.
Two years ago, Sinner defeated Carlos Alcaraz, but now Alcaraz seems to have surpassed him after beating Djokovic in last year’s final. So what does Sinner need to do to get better on grass? Annacone discussed this with ATP.
Annacone’s Insights:
“To me, even though the grass game has evolved, generally, the most effective grass-court players are the ones that are really good at first-strike tennis. He made a big improvement on second-serve success rate. His first-serve speeds and accuracy are up.”
Fans might think it’s exciting to see how these changes will impact his game.
“So I think when you look at those two things, and you look at his ability to return aggressively, and also first-strike tennis, power tennis, [playing] aggressively in return games… I think that’s going to be a catalyst to drive his success on the grass.”
Sinner is expected to start strong in Halle next season. This will be his first event since officially becoming world number one—a title he aims to keep heading into Wimbledon.
“Even though he’s moving much better now, he’s a tall guy. That might be a disadvantage compared to someone like Alcaraz who stays lower to the ground,” Annacone added. “Alcaraz is more powerful and moves more smoothly than Jannik will on grass.”
“So based on that,” Annacone continued, “you really have to be good off of the first strike. When you look at [Sinner’s] improvements in serve—that’s a huge bonus. He’s a terrific returner too. Serve is going to pay huge dividends for him on the grass this year.”
Do you agree with Annacone’s thoughts? Let us know!
