Andy Roddick Feels Jannik Sinner Has Added One Weapon Opponents Feared from Carlos Alcaraz: “It’s Just Impressive”

Jannik Sinner smashed 128 aces across the recently concluded Wimbledon, also the most on the men’s side. In his tight first-round match against Miomir Kecmanovic itself, he served 31 aces.

His coaches, Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi, admitted that Sinner improved his serve a lot after his defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in last year’s US Open final. Sinner, after that upset, said he knew what his weaknesses were, that he wanted to make his tennis more unpredictable instead of solely relying on his baseline prowess.

But the shot that impressed Andy Roddick the most was the drop shot, the one mastered by Alcaraz, who likes to dumbfound his opponents and make the game more interesting for the crowd by taking the pace off the ball when it’s least expected.

[It’s] just impressive all around, [he] can beat you in a number of different ways. All of a sudden, now we’re having to respect his drop shot. You’ve heard me go on about Carlos and setting the table for the drop shot. Sinner’s doing that. He’s done it on big points. He did pull the trigger on one against Novak [Djokovic] break point in the second set to go [a] set [and] a break [up]. [He] just kind of figures his way through things.

Andy Roddick said on his Served podcast

In the Wimbledon final, Sinner overcame a set deficit to defeat Alexander Zverev, becoming the 10th man in the Open Era to defend the title at SW19. He is also the eighth man in the Open Era to win Wimbledon without competing in a warm-up event on grass. In the semifinals, he ended Djokovic’s run in a convincing fashion.

Sinner clinched his sixth title of the season at Wimbledon. Before his shock second-round defeat at the French Open, he lifted the first five Masters 1000s of the season.

Simone Vagnozzi on the areas Jannik Sinner still needs improvement

At the press conference after Jannik Sinner‘s Wimbledon win, his coach Simone Vagnozzi revealed the areas his protege still needs a great deal of improvement. Vagnozzi, who joined Sinner’s team back in 2022 alongside his other coach, Darren Cahill, wants the now five-time Grand Slam champion to come more often toward the net.

He always needs a plan, something to work on and improve on. This is what motivates him every day. We’re very pleased with the progress he’s made over the last five years, but we’re convinced there’s still room for improvement.

Although Sinner is next scheduled to play at the Canadian Open, he has expressed uncertainty about his participation. He won this title back in 2023 by defeating Alex de Minaur.

Today, for example, I don’t think he even had a single serve-and-volley. There was also a rally at 4-3 where he could have closed the point by going to the net, but instead he didn’t, ultimately losing the point. There are always areas where we can improve. Our plan is to make him an increasingly aggressive player: going to the net more often, using a few more drop balls at the right times, and further expanding his repertoire.

Simone Vagnozzi added

Sinner is on a 34-match winning streak in Masters 1000s, as before winning the first five Masters 1000s of this season, he lifted last year’s Paris Masters. The 24-year-old has also improved his head-to-head record over Alexander Zverev to 11-4, with this win being his 10th consecutive one over the reigning French Open champion. Sinner also met the German for the fifth time this year, plus it was the second time they met in the final this year.

Also read: Two Former World No.1s Give Insights into Alexander Zverev’s Mentality After Losing the Wimbledon Final to Jannik Sinner