Jannik Sinner

[Nando]

[Damian]

Shining Sinner Storms Into Top 10

Spoiler:

20-year-old is the fifth Italian to achieve the feat
Jannik Sinner makes history on Monday when he becomes the youngest Italian to crack the Top 10 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. The 20-year-old climbed to World No. 9 following his run to the Erste Bank Open semi-finals.

The five-time ATP Tour titlist is the fifth player from his country to break into the elite group, joining Adriano Panatta, Corrado Barazzutti, Fabio Fognini and Matteo Berrettini. Overall, Sinner is the youngest man in the Top 10 by more than two years, with Casper Ruud nearing his 23rd birthday.

It is not only impressive that Sinner is in the Top 10 — it is how quickly he got there. The San Candido native skied competitively as a junior and did not turn his focus to tennis until his early teens. Four years ago, he did not have a FedEx ATP Ranking. Now, he is near the very top of the sport.

Sinner's Ranking This Week Since 2017

2017 Unranked
2018 No. 785
2019 No. 93
2020 No. 44
2021 No. 9
Sinner is not blinded by his accolades, though. Far from it. The 20-year-old often speaks about the “long road” that represents his career. He is focussed on the practice or match in front of him, not his impressive rise.

“For sure I don't want to rush so much,” Sinner said in Indian Wells. “I'm just trying… to play match after match in the best possible way, and we’ll see. [I’m] trying to improve.”

Although Sinner did not begin his ascent until just a few years ago, he quickly earned the respect of his peers and the fans. The 2019 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion has consistently held his own against the best in the sport and in many cases challenged them. The Italian, who made his first ATP Masters 1000 final this year in Miami, played Alexander Bublik during that run. The Kazakhstani asked him afterwards if he is human.

“He’s not [human]. That’s a fact,” Bublik said. “I asked him if he’s a human or not because for me, it’s very surprising that the guy at his age has this mental toughness that many, many other players don’t have. I called him a robot a couple of times during the match, but I do it in a very sincere way because he’s a really, really great player.”


Sinner played World No. 1 Novak Djokovic for the first time just two weeks later in Monte Carlo. The Serbian won the match, but had high praise for the protégé of Riccardo Piatti, who once worked with Djokovic.

“[Jannik] has got a lot of talent and he has proven that he is the future of our sport. Actually, he is already the present of our sport [having] played a final [in an] ATP Masters 1000 [event] already,” Djokovic said. “He is making big strides in professional tennis.”

Players rave about Sinner’s power, mental toughness, maturity and professionalism. Those traits have propelled him into the Top 10 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, and also into eighth in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin, putting him in position to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals with a strong finish to the season. But Sinner is not allowing that to distract him.

“Honestly, I love to play tennis, and this is the reason why I play,” Sinner said in Vienna. “Obviously you would like to go to Turin or you want to win this match or that point, but sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn’t happen. You have to accept that. Honestly, I just try to play tennis.”

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[Damian]

[Damian]

Sinner Takes On Alcaraz To Keep Turin Chase Alive

Spoiler:

Italian eyes one of two remaining Nitto ATP Finals berths

Jannik Sinner’s late pursuit of a Nitto ATP Finals berth will be put to a serious test on Wednesday when the Italian meets #NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz for the first time at tour level in his opening match at the Rolex Paris Masters.

The 20-year-old Sinner made history on Monday as the youngest Italian to break into the Top 10 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, following his run to the semi-finals at the Erste Bank Open (l. to Tiafoe). He could secure his spot in Turin with a fifth title of the year in Paris.

Two years his junior, Alcaraz also reached the last four in Vienna, his first at ATP 500 level (l. to Zverev). He scored back-to-back wins over former World No. 1 Andy Murray and third seed Matteo Berrettini in Vienna and opened his account in Paris on Tuesday with a narrow 6-7(4), 7-6(2), 7-5 victory over Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert.


The Spaniard beat Sinner 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in an ATP Challenger Tour event in Alicante in April 2019, but both have made huge inroads since. The World No. 35 has compiled a 26-16 match record this season and has already secured his Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals berth, to be held in Milan. Sinner captured his fourth title of the season with victory over Diego Schwartzman in the Antwerp final prior to Vienna to improve his match record for the season to 45-19.

“I think we played a good level and it was a great match, so I am happy to win. He has a great serve, so I had to return better and remain focus,” Alcaraz said of his win over Herbert. “I think that was the key. I am playing at a good level and I want to finish the year strong.”

Defending champion Daniil Medvedev is also in the midst of a career-best season. The Russian rose to World No. 2 with victory in Marseille, added a first grass-court title in Mallorca, a fourth Masters 1000 trophy in Toronto and his maiden Grand Slam title in New York.

The second seed opens against Belarusian Ilya Ivashka as he looks to keep his slim chances of snatching the year-end No. 1 FedEx ATP Ranking from Djokovic. Ivashka won the pair’s only prior tour-level ATP Head2Head meeting in a Davis Cup play-off tie indoors in 2018.


You May Also Like: Alcaraz Sets Up Sinner Clash In Paris
“I have three tournaments ahead of me, two tournaments where there are points to grasp,” Medvedev said. “Honestly, I want to win every tournament, because I know that I can do it. Maybe less on other surfaces, but this is my aim anyway.”

Third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas has already clinched two titles in 2021, including his maiden ATP Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo. The Greek will open his bid for a second Masters 1000 title of the season in Paris when he meets Australian lucky loser Alexei Popyrin for the first time.

Tsitsipas comes off a round of 16 exit in Vienna against his first-round Wimbledon conqueror, Frances Tiafoe. Popyrin, who qualified and fell to third seed Berrettini in Vienna, scored a convincing win over countryman Alex de Minaur in the first round in Paris.

German Alexander Zverev has been in ruthless form on hard courts in the second half of 2021. The fourth seed carries a 25-2 match record since Wimbledon into his second-round clash against Serbian Dusan Lajovic. Zverev captured his fifth title of the season in Vienna, while Lajovic won his opening match in Paris against Mackenzie McDonald.

Fifth seed Andrey Rublev looks to atone for early exits back-to-back on home soil in recent weeks when he meets in-form American Taylor Fritz in the first round. The Russian arrives with a 1-2 match record from Moscow and St. Petersburg combined, but leads the ATP Head2Head ledger 2-1 against the World No. 26. Fritz hit form in Indian Wells, where he reached his first Masters 1000 semi-final and continued his run in St. Petersburg last week, when he advanced to the St. Petersburg final (l. to Cilic).

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[Damian]

[robpal]

[robpal]

[Damian]

[Kamileki]

[Nando]

[Kamileki]

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Kamileki]

[DUN I LOVE]

Debiut w Finałach ATP nastąpi szybciej niż się wydawało.

[Bombardiero]

[Damian]

Lorenzi On Sinner: 'He Is Ready To Be One Of The Best'

Spoiler:

Jannik Sinner is the youngest player at the Nitto ATP Finals, aged 20. © Andrew Eichenholz/ATP Tour

Andrew Eichenholz
Nov 16, 2021

Sinner enters Nitto ATP Finals as alternate for Berrettini

Paolo Lorenzi’s first memory of Jannik Sinner is one he will never forget.

They were both competing in an ATP Challenger Tour event in Biella, Italy, in 2018. Lorenzi was the third seed, and Sinner, who was in qualifying as the World No. 878, had just turned 17.

“It was raining one day, so we went to another club to practise. We were doing a drill, and I was usually one of the best to do that drill from the baseline. He was doing that better than me, so when I finished I went to the coach and said, ‘This is special,” Lorenzi told ATPTour.com. “It is not normal when you are in the Top 100 to find a guy who is 17 and doing these things better than you. From then, I started to follow him.

“He’s a great guy and I still have a good relationship with him. What he’s doing this year is amazing and we hope he is going to do better and better in the coming years.”

In just three years, Sinner has gone from losing in the first round of qualifying at that Challenger to competing in the Nitto ATP Finals. With Matteo Berrettini’s withdrawal from the season finale due to injury, Sinner will take his place in the Red Group and face Hubert Hurkacz on Tuesday evening.

“I think it’s the best opportunity. Of course it came for Matteo’s injury. He doesn’t want to come in like this, but he deserved to be the first alternate,” Lorenzi said. “The crowd is Italian, so it’s an unbelievable chance for him. Usually he’d have to wait one more year to play this tournament and now he has the chance.

“Maybe he has less pressure because he’s playing at the last minute. I hope he can enjoy it and play great tennis, because the surface, fast, indoors, is one of the best for him.”

Sinner has already proven he can compete against the best players in the world. This season, he has won four ATP Tour titles and made his first ATP Masters 1000 final at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

“He’s going really fast, but for him I’m not surprised. I know it’s strange if he wins big tournaments [at his age], but what he is doing is normal because there are some players that have something more than others. He is one of them and I’m expecting a lot of things,” Lorenzi said. “I was with him when he made his first semi-final in Antwerp. We also made the semi-finals in doubles.

"He won his quarter-final, so the next day he had the first semi-final. After the quarter-final we played doubles and we won, but he just went to practise one more hour because he knew he had to improve. He is ready to be one of the best players in the world.”

It is easy to forget that Sinner, the 2019 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion, just turned 20 in August. He carries himself like an established veteran.

“It’s not easy. Sometimes we are not thinking that he is 20 years old. He has a lot of money for a guy of his age. A lot of people recognise him. He still continues to be a normal guy,” Lorenzi said. “Today we got lunch together and we were talking about anything, not tennis.

“He was just saying, ‘Maybe I have to do better next year. If I’m in the top eight I don’t have to wait for someone else’. That is the key to his level so young.”

According to Lorenzi, the former World No. 33 who retired at this year’s US Open and is in Turin for Sky Italia, Sinner has incredible technique and power.

“It’s like he has a different racquet from me. Last year in New York I was practising with him every day. After practising with him, everyone else was hitting too slow,” Lorenzi said. “The ball comes fast. He takes the ball earlier and he has such good technique that the ball is coming quicker from his racquet. I think a lot is his technique is perfect on court. He starts from the legs and then the body.

“Sometimes I watch his match and stand behind him. It’s like he knows where the ball is going and takes it earlier than everyone else."

Lorenzi praised Sinner’s team, led by Riccardo Piatti. But he added that not everything the former junior skier does on the court can be taught.

“He is special,” Lorenzi said. “He can do things that for us are very difficult. If you watch him play, it’s simple.”

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[DUN I LOVE]

Moment Jannika w Turynie (pierwszy wygrany mecz w Finałach ATP).

[Damian]

[Damian]

Sinner Rocks Turin Debut With Hurkacz Win

Spoiler:

Italian’s win leaves open second semi-final berth in Red Group
Italian Jannik Sinner gave fans in Turin plenty to cheer for on Tuesday, as he dropped just four games in his winning Nitto ATP Finals debut against Hubert Hurkacz.

Sinner, the first alternate, replaced his injured countryman Matteo Berrettini after he withdrew from the tournament due to an abdominal injury. The 20-year-old became the fourth Italian to play singles at the Nitto ATP Finals in the event’s 52-year history – and he rallied the home crowd like a veteran at the Pala Alpitour, Italy’s largest indoor sporting arena.

“I knew around 5 (p.m.) that I would play," Sinner said. "I was ready to go on court. It is an incredible feeling playing here in Italy with thousands of people cheering for you and I am trying my best. I will enjoy the moment. I played well and felt good in the warm up. It was an incredible match today.”

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The World No. 11 saved all five of the break points he faced against Hurkacz, who was also seeking his first win in Turin. Sinner broke the Pole’s serve early in both sets of his 6-2, 6-2 win, and he was rock-solid from the baseline to clinch the victory in an hour and 22 minutes.

Afterward, Sinner dedicated the victory to his countryman Berrettini and signed the camera lens with a message that read: “Matteo, you are an idol.”

“Matteo has been unlucky many, many times in his career and I wish him all the best," Sinner said. "I am going to play for him at this tournament because he deserves to be here. I will give my best and it is a highlight playing here.”

You May Also Like: Berrettini Withdraws From Nitto ATP Finals, Sinner Steps In
As a result, Sinner is firmly in semi-final contention in Turin. He could reach the semi-final if he defeats World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev in their next match, or if Alexander Zverev loses to Hurkacz on Thursday. With two defeats, Hurkacz currently sits at the bottom of the Red Group, while Medvedev has already booked his place in the last four.

Sinner was eager to end the season on a positive note after narrowly missing out on directly qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals. Coming into Turin, Sinner has recorded back-to-back first-round defeats in Paris (l. to Alcaraz) and Stockholm (l. to Murray).

How To Watch The 2021 Nitto ATP Finals

But he was back at his world-beating best against Hurkacz, in a rematch of their Miami Open presented by Itau final. The Italian got the crowd involved early as he broke Hurkacz’s serve to go 2-1 ahead, and then fought off three break points to see through a 12-minute service game.

With the Pala Alpitour rocking, Sinner made it a five-game run from 0-1 before Hurkacz found his footing at 5-2. But the second set unfolded much like the first, and Sinner quickly halted the Pole’s nascent comeback efforts with another break at 2-1. The 20-year-old didn’t look back, as he roared to his first victory at the ATP season finale.

Did You Know...
Sinner’s victory over Hurkacz keeps him alive in the Red Group, and continues his bid to become the first alternate to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals semi-finals.

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