{"id":53133,"date":"2025-07-10T04:00:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T04:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/53133\/"},"modified":"2025-07-10T04:00:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T04:00:12","slug":"stan-smith-has-identified-problems-with-jannik-sinner-and-carlos-alcarazs-games-that-need-improving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/53133\/","title":{"rendered":"Stan Smith has identified problems with Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz\u2019s games that need improving"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have been a class above over recent years and are currently ranked number one and two in the world.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since the beginning of the 2024 season, no other player has been able to win a Grand Slam title, as Sinner<\/a> and Alcaraz continue to dominate.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Sinner and Alcaraz contested their first Grand Slam final<\/a>, as the Spaniard prevailed in an instant classic at Roland Garros.<\/p>\n

\"JannikPhoto by Andy Cheung\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The pair are expected to win the remaining majors in 2025, as their ATP Tour<\/a> rivals seem to be lagging behind.<\/p>\n

However, despite their success, there is still work to be done, and one tennis legend has now identified the biggest problems in each player\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

Stan Smith says Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz can still improve and tells them how<\/p>\n

During an interview with La Gazetta dello Sport<\/a>, former Wimbledon and US Open champion Stan Smith shared his thoughts on how Sinner and Alcaraz can improve.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Jannik] Sinner is improving a lot, but he still has room for improvement on his volleys,\u201d said Smith.<\/p>\n

\u201cCarlos [Alcaraz]<\/a> occasionally has moments of disarray or distraction that he needs to work on, but he has speed and physical strength.<\/p>\n

\"StanPhoto by Michael Loccisano\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cThey will share the tennis cake for a while.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith proceeded to share his thoughts on Sinner and Alcaraz\u2019s legendary French Open final, a match he was in attendance for.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I was there. Five and a half hours of incredible tennis. It was a real pleasure to watch,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the best finals I\u2019ve ever seen, definitely in my top ten.\u201d<\/p>\n

The American was then asked whether he believed it would be difficult for Sinner to overcome such a devastating defeat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s already behind him. He\u2019s very strong mentally,\u201d said Smith.<\/p>\n

\u201cFacing Alcaraz or [Novak] Djokovic<\/a> will be tough, but he\u2019ll win a lot of Slams.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven greats like [Ivan] Lendl<\/a> lost a lot of finals early on, and Jannik has already won three majors.\u201d<\/p>\n\nGrand Slam final<\/strong><\/td>\nOpponent<\/strong><\/td>\nResult<\/strong><\/td>\nScore<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n1981 French Open<\/td>\nBjorn Borg<\/td>\nLoss<\/td>\n1-6, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3, 1-6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n1982 US Open<\/td>\nJimmy Connors<\/td>\nLoss<\/td>\n3-6, 2-6, 6-4, 4-6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n1983 US Open<\/td>\nJimmy Connors<\/td>\nLoss<\/td>\n3-6, 7-6, 4-7, 0-6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n1983 Australian Open<\/td>\nMats Wilander<\/td>\nLoss<\/td>\n1-6, 4-6, 4-6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n1984 French Open<\/td>\nJohn McEnroe<\/td>\nWin<\/td>\n3-6, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, 7-5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n1984 US Open<\/td>\nJohn McEnroe<\/td>\nLoss<\/td>\n3-6, 4-6, 1-6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n1985 French Open<\/td>\nMats Wilander<\/td>\nLoss<\/td>\n6-3, 4-6, 2-6, 2-6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Ivan Lendl\u2019s first seven Grand Slam finals<\/p>\n

After losing six of his first seven Grand Slam finals, Lendl proceeded to win seven of his next 12, retiring with eight majors to his name.<\/p>\n

Sinner will hope to enjoy further Grand Slam success in 2025, but may well be wary of the chasing pack.<\/p>\n

Stan Smith names three players he thinks could challenge Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz<\/p>\n

The American continued on to name three players he believes could cause problems for Sinner and Alcaraz in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe younger generations are racing,\u201d said Smith.<\/p>\n

\u201cSoon, Sinner and Alcaraz will have to watch out for players like [Joao] Fonseca, Ben Shelton himself, who faces Jannik today, and Jack Draper<\/a>, who perhaps suffered a bit of inexperience here and felt the pressure of home.\u201d<\/p>\n

All three players have impressed in 2025, as they rise up the rankings, closing the gap to the world number one and two.<\/p>\n\nATP Rank<\/strong><\/td>\nName<\/strong><\/td>\nBest Grand Slam performance (2025)<\/strong><\/td>\nTitles (2025)<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n1<\/td>\nJannik Sinner<\/td>\nWinner \u2013 Australian Open<\/td>\n1 \u2013 Australian Open<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n2<\/td>\nCarlos Alcaraz<\/td>\nWinner \u2013 French Open<\/td>\n5 \u2013 Rotterdam Open, Monte-Carlo Masters, Italian Open, French Open, Queen\u2019s<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n4<\/td>\nJack Draper<\/td>\nFourth round \u2013 Australian Open\/French Open<\/td>\n1 \u2013 Indian Wells<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n10<\/td>\nBen Shelton<\/td>\nSemifinalist \u2013 Australian Open<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n\n54<\/td>\nJoao Fonseca<\/td>\nThird round \u2013 French Open\/Wimbledon<\/td>\n1 \u2013 Argentina Open<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner compared to Ben Shelton, Joao Fonseca, and Jack Draper<\/p>\n

It\u2019s tricky to predict which of the trio has the best chance to break through, as all three are in very different situations.<\/p>\n

Joao Fonseca is by far the least experienced at just 18 years old, but has the potential to compete right at the very top of men\u2019s tennis.<\/p>\n

Only time will tell if he will be able to maximise that potential, or if he will become the latest star to underachieve.<\/p>\n

Jack Draper, on the other hand, is the most experienced, older than Alcaraz and the same age as Sinner, at 23 years old.<\/p>\n

\"JackPhoto by Visionhaus\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

A champion at Indian Wells this year and a semifinalist at the US Open in 2024, Draper has established himself as a genuine top-five star.<\/p>\n

Ben Shelton is arguably the most intriguing player in tennis today, as he continues to find his best tennis at the Grand Slam tournaments.<\/p>\n

Yet to produce consistent results at the Masters 1000 and ATP 500 level, Shelton peaks at the sport\u2019s four majors, reaching two semi-finals at the age of 22.<\/p>\n

It remains to be seen if any of the three players Smith mentioned can snap Alcaraz and Sinner\u2019s Grand Slam-winning streak, but it will certainly be something to look out for.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have been a class above over recent years and are currently ranked number…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":53134,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[1479,1466,1824,62,39564,1464,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-53133","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-atp","9":"tag-carlos-alcaraz","10":"tag-jannik-sinner","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-stan-smith","13":"tag-tennis","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114826944490656999","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53133\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}