Jannik Sinner has recently excelled in tennis, achieving the 'sunshine double' and reclaiming the world number one ranking from Carlos Alcaraz after winning the Monte Carlo Masters.
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Jannik Sinner has played at a remarkable level over the past couple of months.
He became just the eighth man to achieve the âsunshine doubleâ in March, picking up titles in both Indian Wells and Miami.
He then took back the world number one ranking from Carlos Alcaraz after beating him in the Monte Carlo Masters final.
Sinner then went on to Madrid, where he became the first player ever to win five straight Masters 1000 events. His streak continued on Saturday with a win over Sebastian Ofner in Rome.
Sebastian Ofner lost his serve three times and managed just seven winners, but Ruud believes it was more about Sinnerâs performance than any struggles from Ofner.
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Ruud, who returned to the top two in the rankings earlier this year, spoke about Sinnerâs form ahead of his straight sets win over Jiri Lehecka on Sunday.
âI played him [Sinner] last year in Rome and I can already think at that point, I said quite openly that was a crazy level that I felt and saw and was a witness of, and also playing the matchâ Ruud told Dutch broadcaster Ziggo Sport.
The Norwegian will next face Lorenzo Musetti or Francisco Cerundolo, made it clear he disagrees with the notion that Sinnerâs style lacks personality.
Sinnerâs groundstrokes have often been described as robotic due to their consistency and mechanical precision.
âI see a lot of people kind of, not criticising, but saying that Jannik is a little bit too much of a robot,â Ruud continued.
âWhen you realise how difficult tennis is and you can make tennis look robotic, it shows how good you are.
The 'sunshine double' refers to winning both the Indian Wells and Miami Open tournaments in the same year.
Jannik Sinner regained the world number one ranking by defeating Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the Monte Carlo Masters.
The recent rankings battle involved Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, with Sinner overtaking Alcaraz for the top spot.
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âSo it honestly should be just a compliment. To make something as complex as tennis appear so simple and straightforward is incredibly impressive. Naturally, every player is now chasing him.
âBut he keeps showing off to players and beating everyone so itâs incredible and kind of inspirational to see what he is doing these days.â
Casper Ruud first played the Italian Open in 2019, making it to the third round with wins over Dan Evans and Nick Kyrgios.
A year later, he went even further, beating Karen Khachanov, Lorenzo Sonego, Marin Cilic and Matteo Berrettini to reach the semi-finals.
His run was ended there by Novak Djokovic.
Ruud also made back-to-back semi-final appearances in 2022 and 2023.
But 2024 brought a surprising early exit for him, as he was knocked out by Miomir Kecmanovic in the second round.
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