Jannik Sinner believes he isn’t the only player making adjustments to their game in order to elevate their level on the Tour.
The world No.2 has spoken openly about his desire to shake up areas of his tennis after losing in the US Open final to Carlos Alcaraz last month. At the time, Sinner said he wanted to become more unpredictable on the court, but admitted that to achieve this, he would have to make more mistakes along the way. His desire for change is sparked largely by his rivalry with the Spaniard, who has won seven out of their eight meetings since the start of 2024. Sinner’s only triumph was in the Wimbledon final this summer.
Since New York, the 24-year-old returned to winning ways in Asia by claiming the China Open title on Tuesday with a straight-sets victory over Learner Tien. Shortly after that match, Sinner jetted off to Shanghai for the next Masters event of the season, where he is the defending champion. He is the top seed in the draw following the withdrawal of Alcaraz due to injury.
“I’m not the only one who is changing,” atptour.com quoted Sinner as saying in Shanghai.
“If you ask every player, every player is changing stuff and trying to get better. Whatever we try to do, it’s not crazy steps, just trying to adjust a couple of things, trying to get better as a player, like everyone else does. Certain shots that worked slightly better than the months before, certain shots we can still improve.
”But it’s also normal, and I’m just looking forward to having as many matches as possible in every tournament. This gives me the chance to try as many things as possible. So, let’s see, but we are quite happy with the work we are doing.”
Chasing after his fifth title of 2025, Sinner is not underestimating the challenge he faces. His opening match will be against Germany’s Daniel Altmaier, who has beaten Stefanos Tsitsipas and Denis Shapovalov in his two previous tournaments. Altmaier also reached the fourth round of the French Open and the third round of the US Open this year.
“I have only one practice session to get ready, but let’s see,” he said.
“It’s going to be a very, very difficult and tough challenge, especially the first (match)… you never know what’s going to happen.”
In Sinner’s section of the draw, he is projected to play either the 27th seed Tallon Griekspoor or Jenson Brooksby in the last 32 and then could potentially take on Alexander Bublik in the last 16. Bublik defeated Sinner earlier this year in Halle, Germany.
The Italian is chasing after his first Masters 1000 title of the season after finishing runner-up in Rome and Cincinnati.
