Alcaraz isn’t alone: Sinner matches rival’s serve focus ahead of Doha…

Much has been made about the work Carlos Alcaraz has done on his serve. But the Spaniard is not the only one focusing on the vital stroke. Jannik Sinner revealed on Sunday ahead of the Qatar ExxonMobil Open that he is emphasising his serve ahead of his first ATP 500 event of the season.

“Honestly at the moment [we are working] on the usual stuff. Trying to get a very solid serve at the moment, which is what we work a lot on,” Sinner said during his pre-tournament press conference in Doha. “Also a lot in the gym, the gym sessions are very important. I try to make an extra step forward in that scenario and that’s it.”

Sinner is the second seed this week in Doha, where he leads the field alongside the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Alcaraz. The Italian is competing for the first time since he suffered a semi-final defeat to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open last month, when he made 75 per cent of his first deliveries and won 80 per cent of those points, according to Infosys Stats.

While the loss was a disappointment, the Italian was keen to stress that the work undertaken in the fortnight since has been building on the foundations laid during the team’s pre-season training block in Dubai.

“The season has started. A lot of the work we have done was in the offseason,” Sinner said. “Now of course we try to keep working, but also to maintain the level of fitness, too. I think everything is going quite well. Of course you need to play some matches, trying to have the best feedback.”

That feedback loop, practice intensity translating into match performance, will guide his week in Doha as much as results.

“From my point of view, it also depends how the practice sessions go. If you feel very well there, you want to produce the same intensity also in the match,” Sinner said. “If certain things don’t work well in the practice session, you try to be slightly better than in the practice session. So it depends, but at the same time I’m here trying to go as far as possible. At the same time, trying to improve and then see what’s working well here.”

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Sinner is making his debut at the ATP 500 event in Doha, where he will open against Czech Tomas Machac. The World No. 2, who leads Machac 2-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series, is excited for the week, having enjoyed success in the city in the past.

“Some years ago I won a junior tournament, so it’s a very familiar place,” Sinner said. “Obviously a different level now playing the 500 event here. But I’m very excited and let’s see what’s coming.”

Sinner trails World No. 1 Alcaraz by 2,750 points in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. However, the Italian has no points to defend between now and Rome in May.

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