PARIS – It is not his forehand, his backhand, his serve, or those legs that track down every single ball: what surprises Jim Courier most about Jannik Sinner is his ability to display absolutely no emotion, even under extreme pressure, destroying opponents with that cold, calculating gaze.
“Sometimes the emotion can override what people are capable of doing and the emotion can stop them from achieving what they want. And that’s not going to get in his way” the former American world No. 1 stated during a meeting with a small group of media outlets, including CLAY.
“I consider Jannick to be an assassin. He’s one of those guys who’s walking down the street, he shows no emotion, he can walk in the shadows, people might not notice him and the next thing, bang, you’re dead. He’s pulled a gun or he slit your throat and he’s on to the next thing. this is a compliment” added Courier, who is part of Eurosport’s team of tennis experts. HBO Max and Eurosport offer Roland Garros live, in full, and exclusively in Spain.
A two-time Australian Open and Roland Garros champion, Courier also analyzed for CLAY the explosive rise of Rafael Jódar, Carlos Alcaraz’s caution regarding his injury, and Iga Swiatek’s new “Spanish mentality” alongside Francis Roig, the former coach of Rafael Nadal.
– What do you think is Jannik Sinner’s greatest talent?
– I think his mentality. I think his ability to stay focused and keep his concentration. And I’m talking within the matches and in the little moments in the matches and also in the big picture, when you pull back to 10,000 feet, that he was able to compartmentalize and play as well as he did when he had the drug suspension hanging over him. When none of us knew that that was going on, it must have been incredibly stressful, but he was still able to perform. So his ability to use his mind as a super weapon, I think, is his biggest strength.
– How would you rate his mind and the power of his mind compared to the big three?
– I think in so many ways, it’s not just his game that he’s borrowed from them. It’s also his mindset and his mentality. And I think the coaching teams that he’s had around him, from Riccardo Piatti and his team to the current team with Simone and Darren, I think there’s an incredible amount of experience in how to help a player set himself up to be able to survive all the rigors of not just the on-court, but the off-court pressures that come with being where he is, which is the top of the mountain. So I think he’s right in that conversation as far as the mentally toughest that we’ve seen.
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– You said some time ago that Sinner had a n “assassin” attitude on the circuit. Can you elaborate on that?
I’ve said this on TV many times, I consider Jannick to be an assassin. He’s one of those guys who’s walking down the street, he shows no emotion, he can walk in the shadows, people might not notice him and the next thing, bang, you’re dead. He’s pulled a gun or he slit your throat and he’s on to the next thing. I mean, this is a compliment. This is supposed to be a compliment. He’s so focused on doing the job and he takes the emotion out of it. And sometimes the emotion can override what people are capable of doing and the emotion can stop them from achieving what they want. And that’s not going to get in his way. He’s going to lose tennis matches and we saw him lose one of the most dramatic matches we’ll ever see at Roland Garros last year, but it wasn’t his emotional state that necessarily cost him that match. It was the fact that Alkaraz, certainly in the tiebreaker, played some of the greatest tennis we’ll ever see. Jannick got a little bit nervous, but a little bit compared to people who sometimes can’t even get into that position. So I consider that his ability to control his heart rate under high stressful situations, a magic skill that he has.
Look, Swiantek changed her service motion again. You see Sinner and Alcaraz both have made major technical changes to many aspects. So there’s a lot to coaching, but the mental aspect of how you become like Jannik Sinner, how you become an assassin, how you control your emotional state so you can perform no matter what the score, no matter what the situation, that’s the most valuable at this level. That’s what separates the, all these men and women are so talented that are in the top hundred, even the top 250.These are really talented athletes. And especially players that are 250 that never get to the top hundred, most of that’s going to be a mental block that they’re not able to perform when the red light comes on the camera and everyone’s watching them
– When you compare right now the Sinner-Alcaraz rivalry to the Big Three, what difference do you see in terms of what it generates for the sport, for the fans?
– Well, I think it’s difficult to compare two people versus three people. I think the comparison that I would make right now, which is I think a little bit more accurate, is Chris Everett and Martina Navratilova, where they separated themselves from the field. They played each other in virtually every big tournament. We’ve seen that with these guys.They played, with the exception of the Australian Open, they played all the major finals. And assuming they’re both healthy, you certainly expect to see them play in Australia and many others. So in Martina and Chrissy, there is a clear contrast in style of play. There is a clear contrast in personalities. It was easy for people to gravitate one way or another because they’re so different. And I think there’s beauty in that contrast. And that’s what’s special, I think, among many things. That’s a special aspect of the Sener Alcaraz rivalry.
– Alcaraz recently said he won’t push his body too hard in any tournament because he’s thinking long-term. At the same age, Nadal was already playing through extreme pain and taking risks almost every season. Do you think Alcaraz’s caution is wise, or do you think this new generation lacks the survival instinct that defined Nadal and Djokovic?
– I think that Carlos is being very wise and being cautious with the wrist. I think there are sadly some cautionary tales of players that have had their careers completely derailed by wrist injuries. Juan Martin Del Potro is the prime example of a player who was a champion and will always be a champion but will, as we look at what his career might have been, had he stayed healthy, will always wonder. And I don’t want to be sitting here in 20 years wondering what Carlos Alcaraz might have achieved if he had just taken a little bit more time to take care of his wrist. He’s so smart to be careful with the wrist. It’s a very delicate area on the body. And Nadal is a warrior, no question about that. I think Alcaraz is a warrior too. You can ask Rafa what he thinks about what Carlos is doing. I’m sure he would support what Carlos is doing because I think there’s just real logic to it. You take your time, you make sure that you’re ready. When you come back, you have a long career. Careers last longer. Take your time and make sure that you’re right when you come back.
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– We’ve seen Rafa Jódar explode onto the scene in recent months. Do you think he’s ready to hold his own in a Grand Slam, with best-of-five-set matches?
– I was waiting for you to ask me about Rafa Jodar! t’s going to be really fascinating to see how he does at Roland Garros. He’ll be protected with a seed in the first couple of rounds. He won’t have to play anyone ranked higher than him. So that’s an advantage to work his way in. And he’s young. He’s so talented. He’s so good. But we just don’t know. We just don’t know what it’ll look like four hours in and a fifth set. Is he still going to have the ability to hit these powerful shots on the run the way he does in these best of three set matches? I think Warren Buffett, the great American investor, had a great expression. He said, you only know who’s swimming naked when the tide goes out. And you kind of only know if the players have done the work physically when they get to a fifth set.
– And what do you think about him traveling alone with his father?
– I love his team. With his father. Just one people. In my era, I traveled just with a coach. Only later in my career with a physio. But yeah, you’d have your coach, maybe your girlfriend or your agent, but very few people. The player’s boxes were much smaller. So I loved it when I was in Madrid commentating at Madrid Open to see just the father in his hometown, where surely he has more friends and more people that would want to be in that box with him. It was really refreshing that it was just his dad. That won’t last, I’m sure. But for now, it’s amazing.
– Do you think these massive teams today are overprotecting or overcomplicating things for young players?
– I’m not a young player with the resources that they have to spend to try and have the best careers they can have. I applaud the players investing in themselves and trying to make the most of themselves. And if they are getting benefit from having eight people with them, then so be it. They can certainly afford it.
– Which player would you compare Rafael Hadar to in terms of his playing style? Who does he remind you of?
– He’s Djokovic and Sinner. I don’t think it’s a coincidence he plays with a Head racket the way that they do as well. But you’ve got this tremendous easy power, right? Something that Djokovic, Sinner and Jodar all share is they don’t really grunt when they hit the ball. And so you can be fooled in a way because you don’t see the exertion and you don’t hear the exertion that you did from Nadal or that you do from another great young player like Fonseca. But the ball comes off the racket. You look at the numbers and the data and it’s coming off big off of Hadar’s racket, forehand and backhand. But it doesn’t seem like it because he’s tall, he has long arms and he has really nice technique and he looks a lot to me like those two players.
– What can we expect from Iga Swiatek in Paris?
– I expect great things from Iga. I would be surprised if she doesn’t go very deep and would not be surprised in the least if she wins it again. I like where she’s trending. I think her work with Francis Roig is going to continue to pay off for her going forward. She already looked more comfortable in Rome and played two great matches there and couldn’t sustain that level at the finish of the tournament. But there were signs that she’s coming back to that confidence level that we’re used to seeing her have on the clay. So I think she’s moving in the right direction
– What do you think Francisco Roig can bring to Iga’s game?
– Look, I’m talking to you today because my career was changed by a Spanish coach, Jose Higuera. So I’m biased heavily in the Spanish mindset mentality. But what I know of it is that they will provide the information to Iga as to how to play her best percentage tennis. When to hit the shots, when not to hit the aggressive shots, when to play it safe, when to go for it, and just basically move the map. So she becomes, to use casino terminology, she becomes the house. And all the odds shift in her favor because she doesn’t make risky choices that don’t pay off more often than not. So over time, you learn how to be the best version of yourself with what you have, with what your skills are. So how does she give herself more opportunities to finish with her forehand? How does she use her serve better to get more forehands? All of those things will be thought of by Francis and the team. And if she’s able to implement them, she’s probably going to be better than she’s ever been.
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