Novak Djokovic is a giant outsider heading into his French Open quarter-final in opposition to world No 1 Jannik Sinner, however tennis legend John McEnroe has served up an alternate narrative round how the match may play out.
Sinner has been in sensational type all through the 2 weeks at Roland Garros, along with his ball placing and consistency permitting him to blow away any opponent that has been positioned in entrance of him.
Sinner has overwhelmed Djokovic of their final three conferences, however McEnroe believes the script may very well be totally different this time if the 38-year-old can unsettle his youthful rival.
It could appear illogical to counsel that the veteran Djokovic’s hopes of beating Sinner would have a greater probability of successful if the match is prolonged right into a fifth set, however that’s the verdict from McEnroe.
Sinner missed three months of tennis as a consequence of a doping suspension, with McEnroe giving this verdict on one of the crucial eagerly anticipated matches of the yr to TNT Sports activities.
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“Consider it or not, I believe that if it went to 5 units, I’d favour Novak, despite the fact that he’s older,” mentioned McEnroe.
“Sinner hasn’t performed that a lot for some time. I believe there’s a bit little bit of a query mark of how he would maintain up bodily and mentally, having not performed a number of matches, which is fairly wonderful to say that if you consider it, when one man’s 38 and the opposite man’s 23.
“He’s not going to be simple to cope with; I can promise you that. He is aware of that he’s received a restricted quantity of possibilities left, I’m guessing until he’s Superman. Perhaps he’s. However Sinner’s going to be extra aggressive than Zverev. He’s not going to take it.
“Typically whenever you watched Carlos play Tommy Paul, you possibly can say Tommy Paul’s not 100%, so play it safer. However truly what these guys do is play greater – greater as a result of it’s important to make these tremendous quick actions as a result of they’re hitting it so onerous.
“And that really is one other solution to break somebody down. So I believe Sinner’s gonna come out making an attempt to play that approach and see if Novak can stick with him.”
McEnroe additionally supplied up his views on Carlos Alcaraz’s semi-final with Lorenzo Musetti, as he predicted the defending champion will face a much bigger check than his final match, when he demolished American Tommy Paul.
“Carlos performed unbelievable in opposition to Paul, however I believe that Musetti is doing all the pieces he probably can,” added McEnroe.
“He’s fitter than ever. He’s extra comfy at web. He’s in a position to make use of his, he’s received nice fingers and expertise.
“It’s a bit bit like him and Zverev are the farthest again of any high gamers. And that normally means for those who’re enjoying the very best of the very best, you’re gonna be doing extra working. So I believe he confirmed that Carlos will have the ability to step ahead extra and I believe he’s gonna have to do extra of that.
“Musetti was right here 4 years in the past. He received two in opposition to Novak and he ran out of fuel. After which final yr, it seemed like he had him. They performed till three within the morning. It was loopy. He’s getting nearer
“He’s higher than he’s ever been however so is Carlos. That’s the issue. It’ll be attention-grabbing to see Musetti does attempt to do various things and be extra aggressive. That’s not simple to do in opposition to Carlos as a result of he nonetheless hits it so huge.”
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