Sinner, a number 1 against all. The nemesis Alcaraz and watch out for Zverev. Confirming himself as king is the challenge of 2025

A winning routine does not change. A ritual can be glimpsed even in 2025 robot-sinner: Monte Carlo-Melbourne, the last service of the year captured on video on social media, dinner with friends and no tournament to prepare for the first Grand Slam of the season, just like at the beginning of his sensational 2024. But we can bet that this year at least one thing will change: Jannik will be the runaway hare, starting already – in a few days – from Melbourne. Everyone will want to beat him, just like it was happening recently, the Italian is a king on the hill with everyone ready to conquer it. First Carlos Alcaraz, the Spanish nemesis of the South Tyrolean who has defeated him three times out of three this year.

When you are a champion, the devil is in the details. Even in those few grams of weight that Carlitos added to his racket, to make his shots more powerful and penetrating on the fast Australian. The Spaniard aims to complete the career Grand Slam in Melbourne, on Jannik's fast hunting ground. To stay close to him, however, he will have to show greater consistency compared to last year, where he alternated very high peaks of play with real moments of tennis darkness.

For his part, the Italian in the coming months, has a good margin of advantage over his direct pursuers Alexander Zverev at number 2 and Carlitos. An advantage so consistent that it would allow him to remain at number one in the rankings Atp even without playing up to a thousand Americans. Also lurking is the German Sascha. The big boy from Hamburg in 2024 has rediscovered his game and form, also grabbing his best ranking. As if that were not enough, he is also ahead in direct clashes: against Jannik he leads the previous ones by 4-2. Fritz and Medvedev are less frightening, trailing by almost seven thousand points. Not to mention that Jannik has now taken the measure of the Russian bear. Another giant question mark: Djokovic, defeated yesterday by Opelka in Brisbane.

For Sinner, just being in command requires an extra effort. Both mentally and physically: the sword of Damocles, the appeal to the TAS in Lausanne by the Wada anti-doping agency and the spectre of a possible disqualification are always there. "If there is someone who has broad shoulders and knows how to handle difficulties, it is Jannik - Volandri sweetened the pill a bit yesterday, at the presentation of the Roman Lemon Bowl -. I hope not only that he confirms his form, but that he improves, also because he is not someone who is satisfied. Jannik always needs new stimuli and he has them in his head to start again from where he left off. As far as I'm concerned, I'm sure he will have another extraordinary season".

And the big goal passes above all through the Slams. There will be a lot of work to do on resistance and topspin rotations to finally get some big satisfaction on clay, maybe at Roland Garros. Then there is the Wimbledon dream, which ended too soon last year, while the doping storm raged under the radar. In 2025 Jannik will want to face it with all the serenity he needs.