If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Good advice, you might think, especially for Janic SinnerWhich won two of the four major championships in 2025 and was within one point of a third.
But when the man refuses him he slaps the other two carlos alcarazStanding still is not an option. Alcaraz leads 10–6 in their head-to-head encounter, having won seven of their last nine meetings, and until Sinner defeated him last summer to win his first Wimbledon title, Alcaraz had won five in a row.
For the sinner, something has to change. Shortly after losing to Alcaraz in last year’s US Open final, she explained what she needed: variety.
“I was very predictable today,” he said in New York. “During this tournament, I didn’t make a single serve-volley, didn’t use a lot of drop shots, and then you get to a point where you play against Carlos where you have to go out of the comfort zone. I’m going to aim … [try] To be a little more unpredictable as a player because I think that’s what I need to do to become a better tennis player.”
Sinner is the two-time defending champion at the Australian Open, which began on Sunday. conquering the other will make him the only man besides novak djokovicWho did so twice to claim three consecutive titles in the Open era. And yet, as Sinner begins his title defense, he knows that if he faces Alcaraz in the final, he may need to offer something different.
Change began rapidly. Sinner won four of his five events after the US Open, including the ATP Tour Finals, relying largely on his usual style of excellent baseline play, but also mixing things up more often, using drop shots more regularly and taking more attempts at the net.
According to Tennis Data InnovationSinner increased his variation – how much a player varies his shot selection – from 11.7 percent to 13.7 percent. This is still well below the Tour’s average of 19.1 percent, but represents an increase of 17 percent.
He increased his slice usage from 3.6 percent to 4.2 percent, increased his drop shot hits from 1.5 percent to 2 percent and, in the biggest bump, increased his net play from 3 percent to 4.3 percent.
Improving his net game was one of Sinner’s main offseason goals. “We worked a lot on trying to make changes at the net,” Sinner said at Melbourne Park on Friday. “Service, we changed a few things. But all the little things. When you’re at the top level, the little things make a difference. I would say [in] In the first matches, you again try to get used to the feeling of the match, and after that, you try to add something. We’ll see how things go. We will see what conditions we play in.”
Variety comes easily for Alcaraz, who likes to go to the net whenever possible and who hit three drop shots to win in Tokyo in his first ATP Tour event since the US Open.
It is not easy to change someone’s natural game. Take coco goffWho won her second Grand Slam title last year, but efforts to transform her fragile second serve are still a work in progress.
Ivan Lendl worked tirelessly to improve his net game to win Wimbledon in the 1980s, even without playing the French Open, where he had won three times. It didn’t work. Andy MurrayWith the help of Lendl as his coach, he added more power and aggression to his natural game, but it took time to bear fruit. jack draper He was a natural counter-puncher (the person who is most comfortable converting defense into attack) because, as he has stated, he was small as a child. It took time for him to become more aggressive.
Focusing too much on any one person can also be dangerous. roger federer Admitted that he had to change his game to beat them rafael nadal. Years later when he made other changes, including using a racket with a larger head, he discovered the secret, and won seven of his last eight fights.
Sinner’s changes are less drastic and designed to improve his chances against everyone, not just Alcaraz. “If you add something to your game, the purpose of it is to become better as a tennis player,” Sinner said. “It’s not about beating a guy. It’s about feeling comfortable in every situation. That’s what we tried to do in the offseason.
“We have worked a lot physically. The physical part is very important now because the matches can be very long but also very intense. Tennis now, it is very fast. You have to stay at top physical level as long as you can. The season is very long, so you have to manage your body in the best possible way. Also, the mental ability to always be there, that is going to be very important.”
There’s a little something wrong with Sinner’s game. Last year, he was the first man to top the statistics in percentage of service games won and return games won. But especially against Alcaraz, even a little improvement can make a big difference.
