Sinner has a ‘scary’ amount of options in his game – Henman
Video credit: TNT Sports
TNT Sports expert Tim Henman feels world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz has helped Jannik Sinner become a “scary” prospect at the top of men’s tennis. Sinner dominated the opening two sets of his Australian Open first-round match against Hugo Gaston, charging 6-2 6-1 ahead before the Frenchman retired.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Sinner is looking to stretch his run of consecutive Australian Open titles to three – and build on the two majors he won last season, in Melbourne and at Wimbledon.
And in preparation for the season-opening Grand Slam, Sinner played an exhibition against Alcaraz – the world’s top two enjoying a strong off-court relationship despite their fierce rivalry on it.
There is often discussion around the benefits and drawbacks of top tennis rivals training with each other. Andy Murray revealed Roger Federer stopped practising with him, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal during their years at the top of the game due to their on-court rivalry.
But Sinner and Alcaraz frequently train with each other and Henman feels that is benefiting the Italian world No. 2, helping him to round his game.
Sinner ‘efficient and impressive’ in his first competitive match of the year
Video credit: TNT Sports
“I think Sinner’s been very open about how he wants to bring different variations to his game,” Henman said. “He knows where his bread and butter is – that’s to serve the forehand and backhand, just blasting cross-court down the line.
“But now, when you see him playing with great touch, his technique looks more and more comfortable at the net, and it’s scary that he’s got those options to go to if he needs them.”
On Sinner’s increasingly rounded displays, Henman added: “Environment is always important, your training environment, who you’re practising with, and when I think of Sinner’s environment, I think of Alcaraz. Alcaraz certainly has those strings to his bow.”
Courier: Sinner not making final would be ‘absolute shock’
Key to Sinner’s stay at the top of the men’s game has been his consistency. The Italian reached the final of all four Grand Slams last season – bettering Alcaraz in that regard, the Spain star having crashed out of the Australian Open at the quarter-final stage.
Sinner has further honed his skillset by improving upon his serve since the latter end of the 2025 season – and Jim Courier feels there are no real shortcomings to the 24-year-old’s game.
“It’s hard to see him really struggling given how consistent he is in the past few seasons,” Courier told TNT Sports. “He has automated all of his shots. He picks the right shots to play, he is unbelievable at defence, then he has an onslaught of shots to play offensively from everywhere you look.
“The serve has got significantly more consistent since the US Open since he changed his ball toss where he had a bad serving day and he’s been a completely different server since that, which gives him a leg up in his rallies.
Highlights: Sinner goes through as Gaston suffers emotional retirement
Video credit: TNT Sports
“It would be an absolute shock if he doesn’t make the final.”
Sinner will face Australian James Duckworth in the second round, and could meet 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals, should they both reach that stage.
Stream every match of the 2026 Australian Open live and on-demand on discovery+