“Wouldn’t want to be in his shoes,” Andy Roddick claims Alexander Zverev is not ‘concerned’ about dethroning Jannik Sinner from No.1 spot

Jannik Sinner will continue to sit on the top of the ATP rankings even if Alexander Zverev wins two ATP 1000 events.

“Wouldn’t want to be in his shoes,” Andy Roddick claims Alexander Zverev is not ‘concerned’ about dethroning Jannik Sinner from No.1 spot

Jannik Sinner, Andy Roddick, Alexander Zverev (Image via X/The Tennis Letter, #AusOpen)

Jannik Sinner‘s ban gave an opportunity to Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz to dethrone the Italian from the top of the rankings table. But the two players couldn’t capitalize on the chance. Sinner has so far participated in just the Australian Open.

He was waiting for the hearing at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) due to his doping case. But the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) surprisingly settled the case and banned him for three months; which means, Sinner will only be able to compete after May 4.

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Andy Roddick claimed the German is not “concerned” about replacing Sinner from the top position and he rather sympathized with him as Grand Slam titles continue to elude him. Sinner was the defending champion in Miami but as he didn’t play, he lost 1000 points and has 10,330 points in the live rankings. Zverev suffered a three-set defeat in the fourth round and sits in the second position with 7,645 points.

I don’t know if Alex Zverev feels the pressure to play while Sinner is out. From what I see, his recent form is more about trying to be aggressive on the forehand side, because there may be question marks about his ability to go all the way. I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes, because now it’s a matter of winning a Grand Slam or losing. It’s almost as if people aren’t interested in his semi-finals.

Andy Roddick told Betway

Alcaraz, on the other hand, won just one title – the Rotterdam Open. Sinner was not banned during the Rotterdam Open but he chose not to defend his title after triumphing over Zverev in the Australian Open final to claim his third Major title.

After clinching his first title on the indoor hard court, Alcaraz fell in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open and the semifinal and failed to defend his Indian Wells crown after succumbing to a three-set defeat to eventual winner Jack Draper. Both Zverev and Alcaraz won’t be able to dethrone the World No.1 even if they win the next two Masters 1000 events (Monte Carlo Masters, Madrid Open).

Adriano Panatta is convinced Jannik Sinner has improved his game on clay during the ban

Jannik Sinner will be making his comeback on clay. He could sign up for the Italian Open for an emotional return at his home tournament as it starts on May 7. He had skipped the event last year.

Jannik Sinner (9)
Jannik Sinner (Image via ATP/X)

It’s confined that Sinner will go to Hamburg for the ATP 500 tournament which will run from May 18-24. What will be the most interesting to see is how he fares after the three-month ban. Former player Adriano Panatta is not worried about Sinner’s form as he thinks the youngster didn’t waste his time during the ban and worked a lot on his game.

I am convinced that Jannik has used this period to improve his game on clay and has not lost his physical shape; they tell me that he has trained a lot, and fortunately, he has also maintained the top of the rankings.

Adriano Panatta said (H/T: La Gazzetta dello Sport)

Jannik Sinner failed to win a title on clay last year

Jannik Sinner was trophy-less on clay last year. He lost to eventual winner Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinals of the Monte-Carlo Masters and gave a walkover to Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinal of the Madrid Open.

Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner (Image via ATP/X)

The 23-year-old then suffered a five-set defeat to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open semifinal. Sinner also withdrew from the Paris Olympics due to an illness. The 19-time ATP titlist has so far won just one trophy on clay (2022 Umag Open).