Jannik Sinner urged to 'put on more muscle' and warned he faces four-year wait
Jannik Sinner lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open semi-final.
Jannik Sinner has received a warning after crashing out in the French Open semi-finals. It’s been another successful tournament for the Italian, who will become the new world No. 1 on Monday.
But he suffered his first loss at Grand Slam level this year, going out to Carlos Alcaraz 2-6 6-3 3-6 6-4 6-3.
Sinner has now been told that he must “put on more muscle” and that he might have to wait years to reach his physical peak.
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Despite being older than Alcaraz, Sinner is the less experienced player at Grand Slams. He has one Major title to the Spaniard’s two. And Mats Wilander believes that the 22-year-old still has time to find his best tennis.
"I think Jannik Sinner is a work in progress only in the next 3-4 years maybe more - I think he can put on more muscle,” the Swede told Eurosport. “He's so smart he'll realise you have to listen to your body.”
The seven-time Grand Slam champion used Roger Federer as an example, claiming that the Swiss star managed to maximise his game when he couldn’t match Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in other areas.
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He continued: “Roger Federer, did he ever sweat, did he ever get tired? No. Could he run farther than Rafa and Novak? Most probably not, but he learned how to listen to his body. I think today Alcaraz did that today better than Sinner."
Sinner and Alcaraz also faced some problems in the match, as they cramped due to the nerves and tension. But Sinner thought he managed them well and shut down any suggestions that his body gave up on him during the match.
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“I was, for sure, some tension. Tension and after, cramps a little bit,” the Australian Open champion explained. “I handled these situations a little bit better now. I had previous years a couple of, you know, of these kind of moments where I couldn't handle them.
“If we watch that, I handled them a little bit better. It was quite early in the match. We didn't play so much, so I was not worried about my body. Was keeping up quite well.”
