Jannik Sinner believes the surface speed at hardcourt tournaments on the ATP Tour is ‘very similar’ after Swiss tennis great Roger Federer called for there to be more variety in the sport.
20-time Grand Slam champion Federer recently suggested that tournament organisers are purposely keeping surface speeds fast in order to maximise the chances of Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz playing against each other in the final of their events. He argues that there should be more variety of speeds in order for the duo to be tested and forced to adapt to different conditions. So far this year, Sinner has played Alcaraz in six finals, with five of those being since May. Three of these meetings were at major events.
“I understand the safety net that tournament directors see in making the surface slower,” Federer told Andy Roddick’s Served podcast. “For the weaker player he has to hit extra amazing shots to beat Sinner, whereas if it’s quick he can maybe blast a few at the right time and he gets past.
“That’s why the tournament directors are like, ‘Oh I kind of like to have Sinner and Alcaraz in the finals.’ It kind of works for the game.”
Sinner’s rivalry with Alcaraz has taken over as the latest centerpiece in men’s tennis, following the dominance of the Big Three. A trio consisting of Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic.
“We need to have not only fast courts, but what we would want to see is Alcaraz or Sinner figure it out on lightning fast and then have the same match on super slow and see how that matches up,” Federer continued.
“Now everybody plays similar. It’s because the tournament directors have allowed it with the ball speed and the court speed that every week is basically the same. That’s why you can just go from winning the French Open and Wimbledon and the US Open just playing the same way.”
Sinner will return to action at the China Open, which he won in 2023 and then finished runner-up 12 months ago. Speaking to reporters during his pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday, the Italian was quizzed about Federer’s recent comments. Whilst he agreed with what the former world No.1 has said, Sinner was also eager to play down its significance.
“The hard courts, they are at times very similar. At times, there are some small changes, a couple of changes. One tournament that comes up a bit is Indian Wells because the ball bounces very high. It’s a bit different how the ball reacts with the court,” he said.
“But yeah, if not, we have more or less similar game situations on the court.
“This is how it has been for a long time, like this. I don’t know if there is going to be a change or not.
“I’m just a player who tries to adapt myself in the best possible way. I feel like I’m doing a good job in this. But let’s see what the future can give us in every tournament.”
The 24-year-old is hoping to get back to winning ways in China after coming up short at the US Open, where he was beaten in four sets by Alcaraz. After their latest encounter, he admitted he needs to bring more unpredictability to his game. By doing so, Sinner acknowledges that his game could become more risky and therefore prone to more mistakes than he has made in the past.
“We are working on new things. We are changing a lot of small things that I’m thinking of now,” he explains.
“The amount of mistakes at the moment is for sure a little bit higher, but I hope that this recovers in a very positive way.
“It’s just a question of time. Let’s see how long I take it. I don’t know how much I’m able to do it on the actual match court because one thing is practice and one thing is a match.
“I’m very motivated. It’s great to work on something new, then we’ll see how this ends up.”
Sinner will play former US Open champion Marin Cilic in the first round of the China Open later this week.
