Can he surpass Djokovic too?

Miami, full stop. Three months spent at one hundred miles per hour across three continents (Australia, Europe and the USA) gave world tennis a new second place in the rankings, a goal never achieved by any Italian tennis player in history (the old and controversial record of Nicola Pietrangeli, was ranked No. 3 in the period '59-'60, the years of the two titles in Paris, when the ranking was drawn up, pending the invention of the computer in '73, by a group of Anglo-Saxon journalists): after the Australian Open in January and the ATP 500 in Rotterdam In February, Jannik Sinner also secured the Miami Open (6-3, 6-1 vs. Bulgarian Dimitrov), the second Master 1000 title of his career. , the third of the season out of four tournaments played, resulting in seasonal successes at high altitudes 22 (Only one defeat: in the semi-finals of Indian Wells with Carlos Alcaraz).

The sinner wins

Since the second half of 2023, the Red Baron has not missed a single step on the tennis chessboard, and the beginning of 2024 confirms the extraordinary progress of the 22-year-old South Tyrol player, who returns to Europe after Swinging American (a very difficult test of body and mind: From Indian Wells to Miami Fields, balls, time zone, climate change, it is no coincidence that we have been able to reach Sunshine double There are only seven men – plus three women: Graf, Clijsters, Azarenka -: Federer, Djokovic, Courier, Zhang, Sampras, Reus, Agassi).

Because he intimidates his opponents, including Djovukic

Between California and Florida, Jannik deepened his status as a top player, increased the number of fans (Serena Williams, the sport's titan, included: “I wish I had a forehand!” she told him in Miami), and he beat No. 4 Medvedev for the fifth time in a row ( Last year he started from 0-6 down), adding another milestone on the path that now frightens his opponents, unable to find countermeasures for your tennis and forced to change coaches (Ron, Djokovic), desperately looking for solutions to confront him: «If he continues on… “This way, it will not only become number one soon, but it will remain that way for a decade.” Sasha ZverevHe was eliminated in the semifinals in Miami by Dimitrov.

Broken earth

Tennis, which waits for no one, opens the outdoor season on clay Already on Sunday in Monte Carlo: Sinner comes to us ranked second in the world, having overtaken Alcaraz thanks to the success he achieved in Miami. Now, Red Eve, just 65 points The Italian is separated from the Spaniard (8710 vs. 8645), while Djokovic remains at the top, clinging to his treasure (9725), but he carries with him on the brick dust all the doubts generated by Melbourne (where he lost in the semi-finals to Sinner) and onward: the motivational crisis, which reached its peak with Capau. In Indian Wells against the excellent Luca Nardi, the winner over the rival Napoli on Sunday, the option to abandon Miami, the immediate dismissal of the super coach Goran Ivanisevic, full of alleged allegations and backgrounds of all kinds. So the question is legitimate: Which Joker will we find, from Monte Carlo onwards, on Earth?

Because the sinner does not like clay

Which confirms the fact that he is truly destined for him – as we have been telling him since February 24, 2019, when he won the Bergamo Challenger race at the age of 17 (this is the first interview with… Corriere della Sera) —, i.e. the right man in the right place at the right time, Jannik Siner can benefit from Sunset Boulevard of Djoker, who turns 37 on May 22 (there's also a record to consider), specifically the deck he likes least: the earth. In 2023, the Serbian was defeated in Monte Carlo by Musetti in the second round, by Lajovic in the quarter-finals in Banja Luka (Bosnia), and in the semi-finals by Ron in Rome, with a knockout that forced him to abdicate the throne in favor of Alcaraz. But above all, in June Joker defended his victory at Roland Garros, a tournament from which Sinner was prematurely (and painfully) eliminated along with Altmaier. On the other hand, Yannick, after his breakthrough on clay in the semi-finals in Monte Carlo (he lost to Ron in a match that was about to be won), withdrew due to injury in Barcelona before the quarter-finals with Musetti, the round of 16 with Cerundolo in Rome, and as we mentioned, The famous defeat to Altmaier in the second round in Paris (Which Yannick was able to turn into a development move by anticipating a return to the foot-lifting position on serve, which he currently maintains.)

So that Sinner can beat Djokovic

If Jannik plays very well on clay and Djokovic plays poorly (or very poorly)

Briefly, The possibility of eroding those 1015 points from the Serbian What separates him from the top of the world rankings will be there. The craziest scenario is to overtake after Paris (thanks to Roland Garros), with the possibility of appearing in Wimbledon have the treble in their pocket: No. 1 in the world rankings, No. 1 seed, role of big favorite in the All England Club, but let's rein the horses and slow them down. One step at a time. With the soles are often cleaned of red earth.