'Total dedication': Mats Wilander highlights why Jannik Sinner — not Carlos Alcaraz — will become ‘role model’ for young players

Former world number one Mats Wilander has highlighted one reason which makes Italy’s Jannik Sinner a perfect role model for younger players ahead of Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz. The 23-year-old recently lifted his fourth Grand Slam and first Wimbledon title after beating Alcaraz in the final with a score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

The win was a special one for Sinner for numerous reasons, one of them being that he became the first Italian player ever to win the Wimbledon title. It was also crucial for Sinner to get one better of the same opponent against whom he suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the final of the French Open, where he failed to capitalise on three championship points.

Wilander has recently spoken to French media outlet L’Équipe, where he praised Sinner for producing some incredible tennis in recent years. Wilander was of the opinion that Sinner’s tennis is ‘five or ten years’ ahead of what he would have imagined the sport to be, and believes that he will become the role model for youngsters because players with limited ability can play like him by working hard, something which is not the case with Alcaraz who is more talented and depends on using his unique technque.

“I’ve never seen anyone play tennis as aggressively as Sinner,” said Wilander. “It’s not that he hits everything that moves like a madman, it’s that he’s always looking to get the ball early. Some people hit it harder than him, but no one gets to the ball as quickly to play it on the rise, never waiting for it to come back down. I think his tennis is five or ten years ahead of what I imagined the evolution of the game would be. A bit like when, in football, for the first time, there was quick one-touch passes: the speed of the game was turned upside down. He’s leading the way and will quickly serve as a role model, because not everyone can play tennis like Alcaraz. That requires extremely rare talent. On the other hand, everyone can try to play like Sinner, which doesn’t require exceptional talent in itself, but total dedication.”