Tag: Tennis

Go back to last September. Jannik Sinner has just lost in the round of 16 at the U.S. Open to Alexander Zverev in a sweaty, five-set mess. He’s never made the final of a Grand Slam. He has won just one of the tournaments that sit just below that level, and that only in the previous few weeks. No one questions his promise, but there aren’t a lot of people predicting a rocket ride to the top, or anything like what has unfolded since then for the 22-year-old, carrot-topped Italian. Now flash-forward seven months…“He is the best player in the world right now,” said Grigor Dimitrov, the 32-year-old Bulgarian who now knows that better than anyone. Dimitrov got trounced by Sinner in the Miami Open final on Sunday, 6-3, 6-1. It was the 23rd win in 24 starts this season for Sinner. He hit No 2 in ...

After all these years, it’s clear there is one thing Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal are terrible at — quitting. In a sport where the brain can drive success as much as the body, that quality has long helped carry Murray and Nadal to their lofty status as two of the best players to pick up a racket. Murray has come back from two sets down more than any other player. Nadal has won matches with cracked ribs and torn muscles. He endured pain-killing injections before his matches at the French Open in 2022 and left Paris on crutches after winning that tournament for a record 14th time. As long as they have played tennis, they competed as long as they could stand upright – even sometimes when they could not. After something like a quarter of a century of so much positive reinforcement for that be...