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Sinner should take the rest of the year off and set up a long training camp

941 views 48 replies 12 participants last post by  ballbashingmug  
#1 ·
Sinner needs to think long-term, not short-term. He shouldn't care about n.1 this year or even Turin. It's almost a waste of time for long-term goals (winning more slams).

It's a better idea to transform into a new, better player in the off-season than fight for n.1 and not be much of a different player next year. The off-season isn't long enough to relax a bit, train intensely and have enough time to recover. Not enough time to transform into a new, better player for most imo. It doesn't happen that often due to lack of time. Sure some players can pull a transformation off but it's much harder to do in such a short period of time. Tennis season is too long and exhausting and proper recovery time is needed to train intensely again and also have time to recover from that training before the tennis season starts.

Sinner is behind Alcaraz fitness-wise. It's clear. He needs to shorten the strength gap. Bulking up a bit might help him out to handle the stress better of sliding and running. Even Prime Djokovic wasn't this thin (at least not the lower body). He also had a stronger upper body and shoulders than Sinner. Nole was much stronger overall after 2010. He was a true Iron Man. Sinner isn't yet imo.

Take the rest of the year off and set a big training camp to improve overall strength and the serve. The weak shoulders of his won't handle serving hard consistently anyway, even with the proper technique. Sampras and Federer had insanely strong shoulders. Sinner has chicken wing shoulders in comparison. Too weak. All great servers had fairly strong (but also flexible) shoulders in addition to their great technique.

If Sinner doesn't invest more time into strength training (especially strengthening these shoulders) and overall fitness, there is a good chance he will be facing the same issues with Alcaraz next season. He already has a big sample size since early 2024 against Alcaraz, and the record isn't flattering. He has to do something radical, and that starts with proper strength training imo.
 
#2 ·
If that's too long to read, here is the summary: Alcaraz has big 4 level fitness and strength. Sinner is not quite there yet despite having big 4-type consistency. He needs to put more hours in the gym.
 
#40 ·
I don't know about this take. Dude had a fine season and even against Alcaraz apart from USO which was seemingly a result of Team Alcaraz doing their homework after Wimbledon. Next time we'll see what Team Sinner have potentially been working on. They are presumably in the lab as we speak, just like Team Alcaraz were after Wimbledon. You don't need any extra breaks but can use these regular breaks. And it would be a weird move particularly now also for the reason that this is traditionally a good part of the season for Sinner. Finished off last year winning Shanghai, Six Kings, Tour Finals and the Davis Cup B2B2B2B. After that you can then continue your development and tweaks also during the normal off-season.
 
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#4 ·
No hidden agenda behind this post. If Sinner decides to push himself hard in the rest of the year, he might get n.1 but at what cost? He will have less time to recover and improve for next season. That's good for Alcaraz. One could easily argue that the ban actually helped Sinner rest and give his best in RG and Wimbledon this season. It's not easy to produce that level all year. But if he improves his fitness more, however, he can play more at that level during the year and serve better more consistently.
 
#13 ·
I get that but we need a third force badly. It's not my fault. Feels it's only interesting to talk about Alcaraz and Sinner these days, and if not, then talking about past eras/matches. The current field stinks too much to take anyone seriously, unfortunately. I had big hopes for Draper, but he is made of glass. :facepalm:
 
#14 ·
And that helped him peak for FO and Wimbledon (at least from the baseline). I would say that ban paid off, but his fitness and strength level are still not Big 4 level or Sampras level. He needs more strength training. That chicken wing shoulder of his isn't ideal for consistent big serving anyway. It's too weak. He needs to gain more muscle and strength, not just better technique on serve; otherwise, Alcaraz will be serving bigger than him more consistently.
 
#19 ·
Sinner has two choices basically.. Either get a better return of serve and break more often or get a great serve himself. If not, he may never win another slam (If Alcaraz has actually become consistent now and keeps his serve good). Sinner is already 24. After 24-25, thats when the downhill slide begin and he is a little and lanky to make me think hes gonna have some long tennis career and have success into his 30's, Of course, I'm not convinced Carlos has a long one either. How's he gonna look when he slows and this peak athleticism he showing is finally gone?
 
#20 ·
Sinner has two choices basically. Either get a better return of serve and break more often or get a great serve himself. If not, he may never win another slam (If Alcaraz has actually become consistent now and keeps his serve good). Sinner is already 24. After 24-25, thats when the downhill slide begin and he is a little and lanky to make me think hes gonna have some long tennis career and have success into his 30's
So what if Sinner improves his service like Alca did (supposed USO wasn't just a one-time serving wonder for Alca, of course)?
 
#26 ·
You can work on your shots, improve your weapons and your body. In this regard dna and nature play a big role, though. As much as you can train you’ll never change the main structure of your body and certain results are unachievable.

Putting on more mass on some skeletons might increase risk of injuries and worsen posture.
 
#29 ·
Interesting perspective and valid. There is only so much one can do to improve their fitness. Genetics play a big role. Some players are just stronger and more athletic. But it's also impossible to know for sure that Sinner did everything he could to maximize his strength. Maybe he can add more muscle and strength without compromising something in his game. Wasn't Murray fairly skinny when he was a teen and got his best results after bulking up and improving his fitness overall? I'm not really sure how many expected Murray to be a fitness freak back then. Same with Djokovic before 2010.
 
#37 ·
If Sinner wants to be greater, he needs proper strength training and conditioning overall @Muzzafan. There is no other way. Prime Murray would wear him down with no problem (more often than not). Murray just happened to play in a much stronger era against three freaks (also freaks fitness-wise). Alcaraz's fitness is big 4 level. Sinner gotta catch up.

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#38 ·
If Sinner wants to be greater, he needs proper strength training and conditioning overall @Muzzafan. There is no other way. Prime Murray would wear him down with no problem (more often than not). Murray just happened to play in a much stronger era against three freaks (also freaks fitness-wise). Alcaraz's fitness is big 4 level. Sinner gotta catch up.

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I think his problem is being injury-prone, rather than match endurance. He falls and suddenly he has a niggling pain somewhere which affects his tournament-winning prospects.

He's certainly less prone to injury than 2-3 years ago so hopefully he keeps building himself up.
 
#48 · (Edited)
If Sinner has Zverev's body strength (or even close to it), I have no doubt Sinner would be serving bombs consistently. Z has diabetes, but still worked hard to gain muscle and elite strength (shame that doesn't translate to his game apart from the serve, however). I still think Sinner can benefit from more strength training and conditioning.

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Sascha worked very hard to be this good. :hatoff: