Jannik Sinner has been ‘the best player on earth‘ over the past six months but he could face more difficulty on the clay, according to Andy Roddick.
The Italian world No.2 has only lost one match so far this season, which was against Carlos Alcaraz in Indian Wells. He claimed his maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open before going on to win further trophies in Rotterdam and Miami. Overall, he has won 23 out of 24 matches in 2024 heading into his third round clash against Jan-Lennard Struff at the Monte Carlo Masters on Thursday.
Given his surge in success in recent weeks, Sinner will be regarded as a key contender throughout the clay season. Only one out of his 13 ATP titles has been won on the surface but he has previously reached the quarter-finals of the French Open back in 2020.
Weighing up Sinner’s French Open title chances, former world No.1 Roddick believes the clay will present more challenges for the Italian compared to other surfaces.
“Clay is going to be Sinner’s most challenging surface. What he does naturally well, bullying off the baseline, is thwarted by clay more than anything else, so he’s not going to be one of the top two favourites heading to Roland Garros and his rivals are probably welcoming the change.” Roddick wrote in his column for Betway.
Continuing his assessment of title contenders at Roland Garros, Roddick also tipped reigning champion and 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic, as well as Alcaraz. Alcaraz withdrew from Monte Carlo this week due to an arm injury.
“I still like Novak and I love what Carlos does on clay. I think he’s going to win a lot of French Open titles.” He continued.
“We’ll see if that starts this year or not, but I certainly like that transition for him. Alex Zverev is another who has always performed really well on clay and is underserved in that conversation that is largely dominated by four names.”
Earlier this week, Sinner responded to those questioning his clay court credentials by stating that he is a ‘good player’ on the surface and is eager to make up for last year. During the 2023 European clay swing, he reached the semi-finals in Monte Carlo and the Quarter-Finals in Barcelona before suffering a shock second round loss in Paris.
“Talking about last year, (it) was not my best season on clay. Hopefully, I can change it this year. But you know, I’m confident that I can be a good player also on clay. It takes time for sure.” He said.
“I used to practice a lot on clay when I was 14 to 20. But then after most of the tournaments, they were hardcourt tournaments. So you play a little bit less but you know, I’m very excited to be here. I think if you make the clay with a good friendship, it can help.”
The French Open will get underway on May 20th.
