Will Jannik Sinner feel the pressure heading into the French Open? Laura Robson says victory at Roland-Garros “feels inevitable” for the world No.1.
Sinner became only the second player to win all nine ATP Masters 1000 titles after beating Casper Ruud in straight sets in the final of the Italian Open on Sunday.
The 24-year-old is the youngest player to complete the Career Golden Masters, after Djokovic did so at the age of 31 by defeating Roger Federer in the 2018 Cincinnati Open final.
Sinner’s success extended his winning streak to 29 matches and also made him the first Italian man to win the competition since Adriano Panatta in 1976.
The win establishes him as a firm favorite heading into the French Open – the only major he has yet to win – which starts on Sunday 24 May.
speaks to Sky Sports TennisLaura Robson said: “The fact that we’re already saying, ‘yes, he’s probably going to win Roland-Garros’. You go down the list and nobody else is looking anywhere near his level at the moment, so the reality is it’s going to be another two weeks of pressure that he’s going to take on. But he doesn’t mind.
“He’s won so many matches, it feels natural to him. He doesn’t overthink things. But when he gets to these big finals, he’s just so relaxed.
“From the ATP Finals in Turin onwards I think he’s probably quite used to playing in front of his home fans now and used to the pressure and the expectations and he knows how to handle it.
“He’s never satisfied and I’m sure there will be a few things he’ll work on ahead of Roland-Garros. But overall he’s just getting better and better and it’s up to everyone to catch up because he’s just so far ahead.”
‘He doesn’t have dips’
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The best points shared between the world’s best players, Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz in 2025
Sinner extended his winning streak to 29 games in Rome. His last defeat came against Czech Jakub Mensik at the Qatar Open quarter-finals in February.
And he is now 17-0 on clay this year entering the French Open, which starts next Sunday.
Robson continued: “There are so few players who can play so many games without losing concentration, without getting injured.
“Obviously we can go on and on about the amount of work that’s been done in the gym and all the physical therapy to be ready for this, but I think it’s also the mentality that he has.”
Sinner overcame exhaustion to beat Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals, but there was no sign of fatigue against Ruud, who has been one of the best clay-court players for years.
“He doesn’t have dips,” added former British No.1 Robson. “He might get frustrated in a game or two, but I can count on one hand the number of points he’s probably thrown away this year, when you kind of dump the ball in the net and move on to the next one. There’s none of that. There’s no unforced errors.
“So, it’s pretty special to watch. Probably not to play against.
“And then, when one of them [Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz] isn’t healthy, you suddenly feel the effects of that across the draw because you pretty much pencil Jannik in at the moment for the final, and then when he gets there because it feels inevitable, you just feel like the others don’t have the confidence to challenge him.
“So, yeah, it’s a tough question for anyone else who isn’t Carlos Alcaraz.”
Henman: Sinner is a ‘complete’ player
Sinner will enter the French Open on a 29-match winning streak and chasing a career Grand Slam
Sinner has won two Australian Open titles, Wimbledon and the US Open, with the Coupe des Mousquetaires just missing from his trophy cabinet.
Tim Henman admitted: “It’s very, very special and I think we touched on that before this game when you reflect on the greats of the game and this era that he’s following. [Roger] Federer, [Rafael] Nadal, and [Novak] Djokovic.
“Djokovic has been able to achieve that, which is an incredible feat, and Federer and Nadal, as great as they were, they weren’t able to achieve that.
“It just goes to show how good, how complete he is and at the age of 24 he’s going to go on and win a lot more of these things, that’s for sure.”
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