Roger Federer’s former coach praises Jannik Sinner for not jumping in ranks like Carlos Alcaraz

After a terrific finish to the season, Federer's former coach, Ljubicic, has lauded the Italian and his rise to the top.

Roger Federer’s former coach praises Jannik Sinner for not jumping in ranks like Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz (on right) and Jannik Sinner (left) (Image via Stadium Astro)

Jannik Sinner had a breakthrough season this year. The 22-year-old scripted amazing performances individually as well as for his nation. Though he had made some promises in 2022, 2023 proved to be the year when the Italian finally arrived on the biggest stage. For context, the World No. 4 won four titles this year, including his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title at the Canadian Open.

Roger Federer’s former coach, Ivan Ljubicic, has praised the Italian for his incredible performances this year. Ljubicic has put special focus on Sinner’s latter half of the season and what makes him different from another young talent, Carlos Alcaraz. 

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In his conversation with Tuttosport, Ljubicic said:

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I immediately believed in his chances. Jannik is not like Alcaraz, who went from #40 to #1. He needs steps. I think what he has done in the last two months, the confirmation of hard work, has brought him closer to his goal.

That’s not all; as per the former tennis professional himself, Sinner lost the ATP Finals to Novak Djokovic just because he was tired after the hard-fought match against Daniil Medvedev. Sinner has ended the season as World No. 4.

Continuing further, he added: 

He needed certain experiences to feel comfortable on this path. At the end of 2022, I said I regretted that Jannik had not played matches against the biggest players. Now he has nothing more to learn.

After a rough start to the season, Sinner made sure that he finished the latter half of the season in a smashing way. The Italian went on to reach the finals of the ATP season-ending tournament and then eventually bagged the Davis Cup title with Italy.

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz: Young talent to look for in the future?

Notably, Sinner and Alcaraz are two of the most talented and promising players of the coming generation. Both Sinner and Alcaraz had a fabulous season and showcased some of the most amazing gameplay in tennis.

The Spaniard went on to win his maiden Wimbledon title and his second Major after the US Open in 2022, beating none other than the GOAT himself, Novak Djokovic.

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz (image via: Tennis365)

Sinner, on the other hand, has been praised for his performances against World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of the Davis Cup. In a pressure second-round match of the semis, Sinner defeated the Serb in the singles match and then went on to beat him in the decisive doubles.

That’s not all; Sinner and his team also showed a dominating performance in the finals of the Davis Cup, where they went on to beat Australia and lift the Davis Cup since 1976.

Both of the young players have met seven times face-to-face. The Spaniard has a slight margin; he has four wins to Sinner’s three. However, this is just the beginning of their long and illustrious professional careers, as both young guns will try their best to replace the top tennis legends once and for all. With that being said, there is no denying that their rivalry is going to make headlines in the coming future.