McEnroe shows complete faith in this Italian Sinner
JOHN McEnroe has endorsed Jannik Sinner as a freakish talent, predicting the Italian prodigy will swiftly contend for grand slam glory.
The teenager faces Sydney qualifier Max Purcell in Melbourne Park’s first round, attempting to emulate the feats of fellow NextGen winners Hyeon Chung and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Chung and Tsitsipas followed Milan triumphs with successive Australian Open semi-finals runs.
McEnroe believes Sinner is capable of eventual greatness.
“Well, his potential is to win numerous grand slams,” the former world No. 1 said.
“He's one of the most talented kids I've seen in 10 years. He's only 18, but he's got some pretty good size already, looks like he has a great head on his shoulders, and has an unbelievable upside.
“Of course he's going to have to deal with the fact that now all of a sudden he's going to be hunted a little bit himself and people are going to dig in a little bit more and not want to lose to an 18-year-old.
“So he's going to have that to contend with. But I suspect in a few years you're going to see him in the top 10 of the game. Give him two or three years for sure, I believe.”
Sinner was ranked No. 553 a year ago. He has since soared to No. 79 after starring on the Challenger circuit before pushing Stan Wawrinka to four sets at the US Open, downing Gael Monfils in Antwerp and Alex de Minaur in the Milan final.
“He seems to be mature beyond his years,” McEnroe, an ESPN commentator, said. “He looks to be physically very gifted. So it all maybe came together slightly quicker or he's moving quicker than some people thought, but he's got it all.
“Everything I've seen would lead me to believe that potentially he could go and become one of the best players in the world for sure.”
Chris Evert agrees.
“He plays like he belongs on the big stage, and he doesn't seem intimidated by pressure,” she said.
“He doesn't have any fear. I love the demeanour that he has on the court, aside from his game.
“And I saw that with Roger Federer and (Rafael) Nadal, too, at a young age, with the current champions, and I see a familiarity there.”
Purcell, 21, lost Tennis Australia’s wildcard playoff final to John-Patrick Smith in December but capitalised on qualifying opportunities last week.
With the winner likely to face Canadian star Denis Shapovalov, Purcell has vowed not to go quietly.
“I’ll have the crowd behind me. I’m just going to give it everything,” he said.
EVERYTHING I'VE SEEN WOULD LEAD ME TO BELIEVE THAT POTENTIALLY HE COULD GO AND BECOME ONE OF THE BEST PLAYERS IN THE WORLD JOHN MCENROE