World No.67 Pedro Martinez believes tennis has become much more \u201cdirect\u201d and said that Jannik Sinner was the \u201cbiggest example\u201d of how the sport has changed since the era of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic.<\/p>\n
The so-called \u2018Big Three\u2019 dominated tennis for decades, winning 66 of 83 Grand Slam titles between 2003 and 2023, but with just Djokovic left, the game has moved on a lot since they were on the court.<\/p>\n
The next generation is being led by Sinner<\/a> and his rival Carlos Alcaraz<\/a> but ATP Tour player Martinez believes the sport itself has changed, with play being a lot more \u201cflat\u201d and \u201cdirect.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think everything is going faster,\u201d Martinez exclusively told Tennis365.com. \u201cMost of the players, they play good with the backhand, with the forehand, and they play flat, normally direct tennis.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t see as many rallies or a lot of changes in the speed of the ball. You don\u2019t see that much the slice. Players are going much more to the net so it\u2019s becoming more fast and then it\u2019s flat. Within four or five shots, and the point is done.\u201d<\/p>\n On this new style, Martinez believes that Sinner is the biggest example of a player looking to end a point early with power and pace.<\/p>\n \u201cSo you see Sinner, that\u2019s the biggest example of the modern style,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cSo you have to be prepared for that and to be ready to be fast on the first balls. I think that\u2019s the most important thing.<\/p>\n \u201cBefore you could see like more tactics. People were building more points, opening the court, playing high to the backhand and to the other, then stepping in.<\/p>\n \u201cNow it\u2019s so fast. That\u2019s the biggest change. Myself I like to play more like before.\u201d<\/p>\n MORE ON SINNER ON T365<\/p>\n Bjorn Borg\u2019s verdict on Jannik Sinner drug test scandal as he discusses doping in tennis<\/a> Players are also asked to feature in an increasing number of tournaments but Martinez believes they can also be smart about choosing which ones to play in.<\/p>\n \u201cI play a lot of tournaments, but I didn\u2019t play a lot of matches,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I think it\u2019s something that you have to choose.<\/p>\n \u201cMaybe if you play well in one tournament and you play five matches, it\u2019s more in one week than maybe you play five tournaments and you don\u2019t play well, and in five weeks you play six matches. So it\u2019s not that much at all.<\/p>\n \u201cBut now with the two-week Masters 1000, the calendar is longer. More days in the tournaments but I mean you can choose if you want to play or not. You can prepare for some tournaments. You can practice. It\u2019s something that you have to choose.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are some mandatory tournaments you have to go. Maybe you can skip one or two of them, you get some penalties, but then it\u2019s in your hands to choose which 500 you want to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Roger Federer identifies the moment Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner started their own era<\/a>
Shocking Jannik Sinner statistics confirm he is outside top 50 in key rankings<\/a><\/p>\n