“Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka now have a fear factor,” Jimmy Connors says opponents can beat US Open champions only if they ‘kill them’
Jimmy Connors believes that Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka now possess a fear factor that gives an advantage heading into their matches.
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Jimmy Connors (inset), Jannik Sinner (L) and Aryna Sabalenka (via Instagram, sportsnet.ca)
At the 2024 US Open, Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka took home the men’s and women’s singles titles, respectively, to underline their position as one of the men’s players on the tennis tours. The pair have now received high praise from World No. 1 Jimmy Connors, who stated that Sinner and Sabalenka now have a fear factor that gives them an advantage against their opponents.
Connors stated that Sinner and Sabalenka have the mentality and the game to win matches. He opined that the current ATP and WTA World No. 1s have ‘that something extra’ that will see them win matches before even stepping out on the court.
Jannik Sinner and Sabalenka now have a fear factor, other players fear them. That means they will start winning matches before they even step on the court. They have the game, the mentality and everything it takes to win matches, but they have that little something extra that makes their opponent know they have to kill them to beat them. That is something special and I think both Sinner and Sabalenka have that now. It is really special.Jimmy Connors said on his Advantage Connors podcast
Jannik Sinner began the year by winning his maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open and then reigned supreme at the Rotterdam Open. This was followed by title wins at the Miami Open, Halle Open, and Cincinnati Masters. He won his sixth title this season in New York to further strengthen his spot at the top of the ATP rankings.
Aryna Sabalenka, on the other hand, has endured a season of highs and lows. She successfully defended her title at the Australian Open and later suffered the tragic loss of her ex-boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov. A shoulder injury forced her out of Wimbledon while she skipped the Paris Olympics to prioritize WTA Tour events.
This did wonders for Sabalenka, as she took home the title in Cincinnati before clinching her maiden title at the US Open. The win at Flushing Meadows also saw her go one step further than last year, where she finished as the runner-up to Coco Gauff.
Jimmy Connors says Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka have figured out how to ‘mix old school with new’
Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka did the Cincinnati-US Open double to establish themselves as the players to beat on their respective Tours. Jimmy Connors has suggested that they have unlocked something in their pursuits of greatness.
Connors, who won eight singles Grand Slams in the 1970s and early 1980s, opined that Sinner and Sabalenka have figured out how to take the best of the old-school game and implement it in the modern game.
Listen, it’s a modern game, and it’s a game that I don’t know because it’s a game that I haven’t played, But I do understand what it means to mix old school with new with the progress. If you can find that, it seems that the two winners, Sinner and Sabalenka, have figured that out. What it means to be able to change the pace a little bit, to move forward and into the ball. To not let the ball come to you, to go to it.Jimmy Connors said on his Advantage Connors podcast
Following their US Open success, Sinner and Sabalenka will return to action at the China Open in Beijing. The event is scheduled to kick off on September 25.
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Anirudh Velamuri
(58 Articles Published)