Follow us on Google Discover Jannik Sinner has shown some signs of concern recently, even after winning the Vienna Open title.
Sinner beat Alexander Zverev to win the Vienna Open for the second time in his career, coming from a set down in the final to do so.
Perhaps what made this victory even more impressive for the Italian was in the way in which he did it, with Sinner showing a new side to his game.
As a result, Sinner has already won 22 career titles and is alongside the likes of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in terms of his age.
However, there is still something concerning four-time ATP title winner Steve Johnson about Sinner, that he thinks is ‘weird’.
Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty ImagesSteve Johnson left confused by Jannik Sinner’s recent issues with cramping
The Vienna Open was the first ATP tournament for Sinner since he retired at the Shanghai Masters due to cramping.
Although it was not as severe as what happened to him in Shanghai, Sinner struggled with cramp again in the Vienna Open final.
When discussing Sinner on the Nothing Major podcast, the aforementioned Johnson suggested that he could not understand why it has happened to the Italian so much recently.
Johnson also spoke about world number three Zverev and how this could be concerning for him after he was unable to beat a somewhat physically hampered Sinner.
“Why is he cramping in Shanghai? That one is more understandable because of the weather and humidity,” said Johnson. “But is this a troubling sign that he has now cramped in two tournaments in a row? I guess he played the Six Kings Slam and didn’t look like he cramped there. But it is weird. I don’t know what it is, but it’s weird.
“The guy has played six hours, we watched him play a French Open final and he cramped a little bit it looked like maybe in the fifth set, but that’s a lot of pressure, anxiety and tennis to be played. But even when he’s cramping he’s still the best player in the world. Is that a bad sign for Zverev that he can’t beat a guy that is cramping?
“If he can’t beat him there, it can’t give him any more belief he’s going to beat him if he’s beating him while cramping.”
Who was the last player to win the Vienna Open and Paris Masters back-to-back?
Despite Johnson’s concern for Sinner, he now has the opportunity to do something that has not been done for nine years.
The last player to win the Vienna Open and Paris Masters back-to-back was Andy Murray in 2016, and Sinner now has the opportunity to match that feat.
Photo by Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Standing in the way of Sinner achieving this are the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Zverev, Ben Shelton and Francisco Cerundolo.
Paris Masters 2025Jannik Sinner’s Potential DrawFirst RoundReceives a bye as the second seedSecond RoundZizou BergsThird RoundFrancisco Cerundolo (17)/Miomir KecmanovicQuarterfinalsBen Shelton (5)/Andrey Rublev (12)/Flavio Cobolli/Learner TienSemifinalsAlexander Zverev (3)/Lorenzo Musetti (7)/Daniil Medvedev (11)/Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (15)FinalCarlos Alcaraz (1)/Taylor Fritz (4)/Alex de Minaur (6)/Casper Ruud (8)
While Sinner is one of the favourites for the Paris Masters title, it is by far his worst-performing ATP 1000 tournament and he has never surpassed the third round.
The four-time Grand Slam champion will begin his bid to change that record when he takes on Zizou Bergs in his opening match in the French capital.