John McEnroe admits he was really surprised by what he saw Jannik Sinner doing in his first round match at Roland Garros

John McEnroe admits he was really surprised by what he saw Jannik Sinner doing in his first round match at Roland Garros

John McEnroe has offered his verdict on Jannik Sinner’s return to Roland Garros, left somewhat shocked by what he saw.

Acting as a pundit for TNT Sports, the controversial American has caught the eye with his insight already.

And, whilst he oversaw a routine straight-sets victory for the world number one, there was an area of his game that did pique his interest.

McEnroe spoke at length about Jannik Sinner in an enthralling speech about his current level and the tactics he is employing at the French Open.

John McEnroe reviews Jannik Sinner’s French Open first-round win

Speaking live on TNT Sports, the 66-year-old did not hold back in his assessment of Sinner’s performance.

In fact, he even admitted to being left surprised by one thing the Italian kept doing in his win over Arthur Rinderknech.

McEnroe claimed: ’I don’t know if it’s physical or mental but he had a set point against Carlos in that match, he sort of went away which is somewhat surprising for him. I don’t know if he was a little weary. He had played a bunch of matches and that period of time he was not used to it. But he was up two sets to one on him last year.

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‘It’s not as if he is not close to beating him. It’s not as if Alcaraz is blowing him off the court. Yes, he’s won four in a row but those have been close matches. So you would expect him to get better and better, just like you would expect Alcaraz. This is no gimme for either one of them to get to the final.

‘But those two have stepped up and are the cream of the crop. Alcaraz can do everything. He is amazing. I love watching him. He throws everything at you.

‘Sinner is so good at the baseline, anticipation is awesome, taking it early, the slide with the backhand is absolutely beautiful.

‘I noticed, I saw some highlights of him practising, standing 15 or 20 feet behind the baseline. He employed that tactic a fair amount today. I was somewhat surprised to see him that far back as good as he picks up the ball. But maybe he was thinking ahead that if he is playing Alcaraz he has to show some more variety. I’m not sure. It didn’t seem to work that great but it’s good to give an opponent different looks.’

John McEnroe on Jannik Sinner’s return to tennis

Then, touching on how well Sinner has adapted to life back in the sport after so long out, the American continued: ‘If you are going to get suspended for a certain amount of time it worked out as well as possible for him.

‘He won the Australian Open and I’m sure it was tough to deal with but coming back in Italy where he knew the fans were going to be behind him and he had a good run there, so he got a bit more confidence. Obviously, he has improved as each year goes by on the tour.

‘He looked good. Rinderknech the guy is swinging for the fences. The first two sets I think he was averaging 90mph on his forehand.

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‘He was going for it but Sinner looked like he was handling it pretty well. 6-4. 6-3. You are thinking pretty easy three-setter and suddenly he got careless. A couple of service games he should have won he didn’t and he’s 4-0 down. What are the odds of him winning the set? Even as number one in the world probably not that great. 15 or 20% but he stuck with him. I have got to hand it to him.

‘I would say had he lost the third set, I think he would have won fairly comfortably in the fourth. Let’s not forget he has two days off now, so I don’t think it would have affected him that much either way. But at the end of the day, you always want to win as quickly as possible.’

Sinner was banned for three months immediately after winning the title in Melbourne, with his first tournament being the Italian Open earlier this month.

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