Jannik Sinner has earned high praise for his mental toughness from a former Grand Slam champion.
Sinner was on the ball as he put away Novak Djokovic to reach the Australian Open final for the first time.
John McEnroe was surprised at how flat Djokovic was and how well Sinner moved.
“The changing of the guard – when was that going to happen? We keep waiting for it. Djokovic has played Sinner, [Carlos] Alcaraz, he’s risen to the occasion. And he was inspired, he said, by these players,” McEnroe said on Eurosport.
“When I played those young kids like [Pete] Sampras and [Andre] Agassi, I was inspired to stop playing quickly, because those guys were too good, so I give Djokovic a lot of credit.
“But I was amazed at how flat he came out and how it was Sinner – when would you have thought that Sinner would move – for me – better than Novak Djokovic in a best-of-five-set match.
“So I was super impressed after he had match point and lost, that he was still able to gather himself and pull this out, really pretty convincingly in the fourth.
“I think he showed more than anything his mental toughness. To be that close and taste it, and Djokovic had the crowd getting into it, and here you go again with a guy that’s won it ten times. Now what?
“And he stepped right back up as if it hadn’t even happened; as if he won the tie-breaker. So I was super impressed that he pulled it together that quickly.
McEnroe was sure that Sinner wasn’t asleep by the time his Australian Open final opponent was settled, despite Daniil Medvedev needing five sets to put away Alexander Zverev.
“I would bet my life savings that he was up to see who won that match [between Medvedev and Zverev],” McEnroe said.
“He didn’t go to bed, he was glued to see who he would play in the final.”
Former British No 1 Tim Henman believes that Sinner is the most improved player on the men’s tour right now even if he gives Carlos Alcaraz the title of best young star.
“Alcaraz is the most complete player, but Sinner, no doubt, is the most improved player,” Henman said.
“His results in the last four to five months have been absolutely phenomenal. His record against top ten players – he’s only lost once of ten matches.
“He goes into this final with so much confidence.”