Roland Garros 2020: 3 reasons Jannik Sinner can go the distance

Roland Garros is underway and we are already seeing some unexpected results. Here’s why NextGen star Jannik Sinner has what it takes to go the distance.

This year’s Roland Garros was set to be unusual before the matches had even begun, from the rescheduling of the event to autumn, the absence audience, and finally, the absurd weather conditions which have resulted in a slower, heavier game. If things weren’t strange enough, the first-round match results made sure they were with an abundance of seeded players making early exits such as Alex De Minaur, Borna Coric, and most notably, David Goffin at the hands of Jannik Sinner.

With so many unexpected outcomes occurring, this year’s French Open champion is anyone’s guess, as being a top-seeded player won’t guarantee safety. Analyzing the first-round matches thus far, and gathering player background info, here are the top 3 reasons why Jannik Sinner is a solid contender for the title:

1. Next Gen ATP Champion

Jannik Sinner currently holds the title of NextGen ATP Champion after he claimed victory over Alex De Minaur at last year’s finals in Milan. The annual tournament is played each year and is open to 21 year-olds and under, with a Best-of-5 format and first to 4 games per set (also known as Fast4), as well as a tie-breaker at 3 games all.

Despite the shortened match-format, Jannik Sinner entered as a wild card and managed to pull off solid performances all throughout the tournament, ultimately reaching the finals and upsetting De Minaur in straight sets to claim the title. Sinner’s performance throughout the match was nothing short of extraordinary, with a 63% win-rate on his 2nd serve points as opposed to De Minaur’s 25% win-rate, a truly dominating statistic to say the least.

2. Performance in Rome

Although Sinner missed his chance to play Tsitsipas at the Next Gen ATP finals, he eventually had his shot at him when they squared off at the ATP Masters 1000 in Rome. The young Italian had ripped through his first-round eliminating Benoît Paire in straight sets, with a dominating score of 6-2 6-1, to reach a second-round play-off against Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The match between Jannik Sinner and Stefanos Tsitsipas in Rome was a true indication of Sinner’s capabilities as a top-tier competitor. Winning the first and third sets 6-1 and 6-2 respectively, and only dropping the second set by a long tie-break, Sinner advanced to the third round in style, causing yet another upset among the ATP men’s singles.

The third-round match featured a marathon 3-setter against the 16th seeded Grigor Dimitrov, in which Sinner stole the first set 6-4 with solid serving and baseline play. He would ultimately go on to lose the match after dropping the next two sets 4-6 4-6, after what could only be described as an extraordinarily positive performance against one of the hotshots of tennis.

3. David Goffin upset

Jannik Sinner’s most recent triumph was his opening match at the French Open, in which he produced a freaky performance to take down 11th seed David Goffin in straight sets. In one of the biggest upsets of the year, the young Italian produced an unbelievable scoreline of 7-5 6-0 6-3, dominating the match with an absurd ratio of 19 games to 8, more than doubling Goffin’s count.

Throughout the match, Sinner produced some incredible rallies and demonstrated a high level of endurance and grind to come up with some key winners. His court coverage as well as his strong service game were key factors in this grand win of his career, and it is likely that he will continue to perform at this level throughout the rest of the Roland Garros 2020.