Italian tennis great Adriano Panatta believes Jannik Sinner has “invented a new game” and asserted Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal — and even Novak Djokovic — seem “outdated” in comparison.
The 1976 French Open champion also assessed that Federer “would have had a lot of trouble with Sinner” even when at his peak because the Italian “hits too hard.”
Sinner crushed Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 6-1 in the final of the 2024 Miami Open on Sunday to win his third title of 2024 and continue his remarkable surge.
The 22-year-old, who now holds a 22-1 record this season, has climbed to a career-high ranking of world No 2, having also triumphed at the Australian Open and in Rotterdam this year.
The Italian has lost only three matches since his defeat to Alexander Zverev in the fourth round of the 2023 US Open in September. Following that, Sinner has won five titles, led Italy to Davis Cup glory and also finished as a runner-up at the ATP Finals.
READ MORE: ‘Jannik Sinner will never be able to take one record away from me’, says tennis great
Panatta, a former world No 4 who played professionally from 1969 and 1983, lauded Sinner after his compatriot’s latest triumph and made some big statements involving the Big Three.
“Have you ever trained with a ball throwing machine? The ball throwing machine, as you know, never makes mistakes,” the 73-year-old Italian told RAI.
“Jannik invented a new game. Even Djokovic already seems outdated today, not to mention Federer or Nadal. These players are already part of the past. But not because they resigned, but because their game no longer corresponds to what is needed today.
“I’ll even say a word to you. Even Federer at his best would have had a lot of trouble with Sinner because Jannik hits too hard, I’ve never seen him hit that hard, come on.”
Following Djokovic’s record-breaking 23rd Grand Slam triumph at the 2023 French Open, Panatta argued Federer remained the GOAT despite the legendary Serbian’s achievement.
“For me, nothing changes – Roger Federer is the greatest. It’s not just a matter of aesthetics. And not even of statistics, which they like so much but leave the time they find,” he said in an interview with Corriere della Serra.
“Let me explain better – in the few years that he has played, [Bjorn] Borg has concentrated more Grand Slam victories than Djokovic, Nadal and Federer combined.”
READ MORE: What can we expect from Jannik Sinner this clay court season?
