Jannik Sinner has been impressing the tennis community after reaching the 4th round of the French Open when playing the European slam for the first time. The Italian teenager dropped just 1 set in his 4 matches and he even served a bagel (6-0) to David Goffin in the 1st round. Once again Jannik was stunning against Sascha Zverev in the 4th round when he appeared to be in complete control of the situation to win in 4 sets.
Sinner about his tactic vs. Nadal
During the press conference that followed Sinner’s win over Zverev, the Italian sensation seemed to be rather positive and relatively calm about the prospect of facing the great Rafael Nadal in the quarters. Jannik stressed the fact that he will try to be aggressive and not to be dictated by Nadal as that would be deadly.
“The most important thing is to go on court with the right attitude,” Sinner commented. “I’ll try to play my own game because if he [Nadal] gets you to run it’s very difficult to win. It is important to have the right balance and not to start with the handbrake on. In a match like this, I can learn things that will be useful in the future.”
Prediction Sinner vs. Nadal
Even if Nadal will definitely be the overwhelming favorite to win the match, Sinner’s kind of game is not the one that the Spanish legend likes to face. In fact, Rafa cherishes hammering the backhand of his opponents with his vicious forehand. However, Sinner (like Djokovic) has an extremely flat backhand that is well-executed also above the shoulder. That means that Rafa’s favorite pattern will not be as effective as usual. Still, Nadal’s weaponry is so vast that he can definitely find other solutions.
The prediction is still Nadal winning in 3 sets.
Sinner at the French Open, ranking, and results in 2020
Ranked no.75, the Italian has a 11-11 win-loss record in 2020. Sinner is now playing at the French Open where he defeated David Goffin 7-5 6-0 6-3
, Benjamin Bonzi 6-2 6-4 6-4, Federico Coria 6-3 7-5 7-5 and Alexander Zverev 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-3.Jannik Sinner will fight against Nadal in the quarter. In the past, they have never played each other as of now in top tournaments.
Nadal at the French Open, ranking, and results in 2020
Currently ranked no.2, the Spaniard has a 19-4 win-loss record in 2020. Rafael is playing at the moment at the French Open where he managed to beat Egor Gerasimov 6-4 6-4 6-2, Mackenzie Mcdonald 6-1 6-0 6-3, Stefano Travaglia 6-1 6-4 6-0 and Sebastian Korda 6-1 6-1 6-2.
Rafael Nadal will compete against Sinner in the quarter. In the past, they have never competed against each other until now in top events.
The Spaniard conquered 1 title in 2020 in Acapulco. The Spaniard won 85 titles in his career: 21 on hard courts, 59 on clay courts, 1 on indoor courts and 4 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Jannik Sinner and Rafael Nadal have never played each other.