Jannik Sinner’s game‑changer: The single skill separating him from the pack

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Jannik Sinner is hoping to maintain his incredible run of form at the Italian Open, where he enters as the top seed.

Sinner is coming off a run of five straight ATP Masters 1000 wins, with his latest title coming in Madrid. He also has victories this season in Monte Carlo, Indian Wells and Miami.

Sinner was in good shape during his fourth-round match against Denis Shapovalov. After taking the first set, he looked sharp before rain suspended play on Wednesday night.

The Canadian pushed Sinner hard on Thursday, forcing a deciding set before the Italian eventually pulled through. Wawrinka had a close look at him before his own match against Stefanos Tsitsipas was halted by rain as well.

Sinner has already cemented himself as one of the best ball strikers in tennis and an aggressive shotmaker from both wings.

But what sets him apart now is how well he’s defending and countering, something that stood out even more when play resumed after heavy rain delays between Tuesday and Wednesday night.

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Jannik Sinner’s serve now looks stronger than ever

And one area where that is already massively paying off is his serve, which came under fire at last year’s US Open.

Sinner’s serve was heavily criticised after he lost the final to Carlos Alcaraz, finishing with a first-serve figure of just 48%.

Since then, he has worked on his rhythm and toss, and now leads the entire ATP Tour in serve rating with a mark of 300.4.

While his first-serve percentage still has room for growth at 63.4%, ranking him 39th, he sits at the very top in first-serve points won at 79.8%.