Eye of the coach #92 : Now Sinner has the tough task of staying No 1

Tennis Majors

It’s one thing to get to No 1. It’s another thing to stay there.  Both, of course, are extremely difficult. However, the saying goes in tennis that it’s even more difficult to stay in the top spot of the rankings than it is to get there in the first place — and Patrick Mouratoglou does not disagree.  Mouratoglou explained the new challenge that awaits Jannik Sinner, who clinched the No 1 ranking on the ATP Tour for the first time during the 2024 Roland-Garros tournament.  “Of course it’s extremely difficult to reach the top” Mouratoglou commented, “but it is more difficult to stay at the top. You don’t have the right to fail anymore. You’re supposed to win all time. The pressure is unbelievable.”  The coach went on to say that the pressure on Sinner will especially show up in matches when he is a heavy favorite against a considerably lower-ranked opponent. There won’t be as much pressure on him against an opponent like Carlos Alcaraz, who is close to the same ranking and level.  “When you’re No 1 you don’t want to lose to a guy who is No 10, No 15 in the world. But those guys…some of them are very dangerous, so they can beat him. And when he’s gonna play them, he’s gonna feel extra pressure because’s he really not supposed to lose against them.  “People will understand (if he loses to Alcaraz). It’s okay to lose against him…. But if he loses against a guy who is No 10, No 15 in the world, then people will start to say, ‘oh, wow, maybe he’s not gonna stay (No 1). That sort of pressure will be higher.”  KEY MOMENTS 0.10 – Sinner reaching No 1 in the world isn’t a surprise; it was expected 0.31 – It’s more difficult to stay at the top because of the pressure to win every match 0.48 – It will be a challenge for Sinner to stay there, but he will likely deal well with the pressure 1.00 – There are two dangers for Sinner: 1) Alcaraz; 2) everyone other than Alcaraz 1.27 – Playing against lower-ranked opponents puts more pressure on the world No 1 1.46 – Losing to Alcaraz wouldn’t be as bad because Alcaraz is close in ranking and level 2.02 – If Sinner loses to a player outside the top 10, people will start having doubts

Transcript

00:00 The first challenge was to reach number one.

00:02 The second one, which is a completely different one,

00:03 is to stay number one.

00:04 No, it's not a surprise that Yannick Sinner

00:09 reaches the number one spot in the world.

00:11 It's something that we expected

00:12 because the start of the season,

00:14 he's been extremely dominant.

00:15 He's the best player in the world by far since January.

00:18 He's really much into it.

00:19 His passion, his focus.

00:21 If you're into it and it brings a lot of anxiety,

00:23 he can play against you.

00:25 He doesn't have that.

00:26 He's quite cool-headed.

00:27 Of course, it's extremely difficult to reach the top,

00:29 but it is more difficult to stay at the top.

00:32 You don't have the right to fail anymore.

00:33 You're supposed to win all the time.

00:35 The pressure is unbelievable

00:36 and it's very difficult for people to understand

00:38 when you are not in that position.

00:40 I've been with Serena in that position for a long time

00:42 and I know exactly how it feels for the player

00:44 to be in the position of the number one in the world.

00:46 I don't feel any extra pressure

00:48 or negativity around him at all.

00:50 There is no reason to think

00:51 that he's not gonna deal well with that,

00:53 but it's a new challenge for him.

00:54 That's the thing.

00:55 The first challenge was to reach number one.

00:57 The second one, which is a completely different one,

00:58 is to stay number one.

00:59 I think for Yannick, there are two dangers.

01:01 The first one is the player that can take his spot

01:04 and at the moment, it's Alcaraz.

01:06 He's the closest.

01:07 He's the one that plays probably the best tennis besides him.

01:10 And the second danger is the other guys

01:12 that are lower ranked but can beat him.

01:15 It's gonna be more difficult for him to beat,

01:18 in a way, players that are maybe not as good yet as Carlos,

01:22 but that can play unbelievable tennis.

01:25 The fact that their ranking is lower

01:27 puts extra pressure on him.

01:28 I mean, when you're number one,

01:29 you don't wanna lose to a guy who's 10, 15 in the world,

01:32 but those guys, some of them are very dangerous,

01:34 so they can beat him.

01:35 And when he's gonna play them,

01:36 he's gonna feel extra pressure

01:37 because he's really not supposed to lose against them.

01:39 He's not supposed to lose against Alcaraz if he's number one

01:42 but people will understand.

01:43 Alcaraz is very close in terms of level,

01:46 in terms of ranking.

01:48 He's also a Grand Slam winner.

01:49 It's okay to lose against him.

01:51 It's not okay in a way that they will think

01:53 and people will start to say,

01:54 "Oh, Alcaraz is gonna become number one

01:55 "and take the spot of Yannick,

01:57 "so that's gonna be very uncomfortable

01:59 "if he loses against him."

02:00 But if he loses against a guy number 10 or 15 in the world,

02:02 then people will start to say,

02:03 "Oh, wow, maybe that's the start of the end."

02:07 And so the pressure will be higher.

02:09 So I think those guys will be very dangerous for him.

02:11 (upbeat music)

02:14 (upbeat music)

02:16 (upbeat music)

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