ATP Rival Shares Major Tactic He Used to Beat Jannik Sinner This Year

Jannik Sinner lost just six matches this season, four of them were to his arch-rival Carlos Alcaraz.

ATP Rival Shares Major Tactic He Used to Beat Jannik Sinner This Year

Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ)

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Tallon Griekspoor trailed 0-6 in the head-to-head matchups when he entered the Shanghai Masters second round to lock horns with none other than the then-defending champion Jannik Sinner. The Italian was struggling with cramps in the scorching heat and humidity, as a consequence of which, he threw in the towel and limped off the court.

The match was a tight affair as the first set stretched to the tie-break, which Sinner ended up winning. The second set was no different. The Dutchman won that set and was leading 3-2 in the third when Sinner decided to withdraw.

It was the second time Sinner lost a match to a player not named Carlos Alcaraz this year. Griekspoor is in St. Petersburg for an exhibition event where he told Tennis Bolshoi how he was able to challenge the four-time Grand Slam champion.

I’m someone who’s quite dominant on serve. I go quite big for my serve against him. He’s the best returner in the game at this point…and I have to play pretty hard on the second serve, because if I don’t serve first, then the second one is tough, and nine times out of 10 when it goes to a long rally, I will lose.

Sinner finished the season with a 58-6 win-loss record. Four of these defeats he suffered at the hands of arch-rival Alcaraz in the finals of the Italian Open, French Open, Cincinnati Masters, and the US Open. The other two times he lost were to Griekspoor in Shanghai and to eventual champion Alexander Bublik in the second round of the Halle Open.

So, I try to play pretty risky within my own limits, sometimes I even go beyond them to beat him, and as I said a couple of times, I was close to beating him, and I let it slip because I went over my limits, and he was just picking up and went over me.

Tallon Griekspoor added

Griekspoor’s Shanghai campaign ended in the fourth round with a three-set defeat to eventual champion Valentin Vacherot, who scripted history by defeating his cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the final. The World No.25 ended the season with one title he won at the Mallorca Championships.

Patrick Mouratoglou says Jannik Sinner took a crazy risk at the ATP Finals against Carlos Alcaraz

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz finished their season by clashing with each other in the championship match of the ATP Finals. It was their sixth meeting of the season, and Sinner did something “crazy” according to Serena Williams‘ former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, which paid off.

Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Giovanni Pelazzo, Carlos Alcaraz)

As an example of the ability of Jannik to take responsibility and risks on second serves, he had a set point against him in the final. It was 6-5 to Alcaraz, a break point and set point, and a second serve for Sinner. He serves a second serve at 187 kilometers per hour just in the corner, taking a crazy risk.

Patrick Mouratoglou said on Instagram

Check out his post here:

The win helped Sinner improve his winning streak on indoor hardcourts to 31 matches. Alcaraz was chasing his second indoor hardcourt title following this year’s Rotterdam Open.

Also, for the six-time Grand Slam champion, it was his 11th final, and he now has eight titles, the most this season on the men’s tour. After him comes Sinner, who secured six trophies from 10 finals.

The two rivals also battled for the year-end No.1 title, but as Sinner had to defend 1,500 points, while Alcaraz did not have many, the latter secured the top spot right after reaching the semifinals of the year-end championships. They will next be facing each other in an exhibition event in Incheon, South Korea, in 2026.

Also read: Novak Djokovic Unveils Technological Plan to Compete With Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in 2026