Australian Open 2022: Top-10 Italian star Jannik Sinner plotting his own path to the top of world tennis
Italy’s Jannik Sinner is the youngest member of the world’s top 10 but is most interested in continued improvement
The youngest member of tennis’ most elite group insists he isn’t in a rush.
Italy’s Jannik Sinner – the world No.10 at age 20 – doesn’t prescribe to the norms, is an extraordinary talent and you will never hear him utter anything close to a brash statement.
His mop of red hair and tangle of arms and legs aren’t exactly what are instantly associated with Italians either.
On an ATP Tour screaming for a new generation to emerge, Sinner joins Felix Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapovalov and Carlos Alcaraz as serious candidates to be a future world No.1.
The flattering Roger Federer comparison owes mostly to his calm on-court presence and all-court ability, while he can also ramp up effortless power when he wants to.
“I try to handle this (hype) in the best possible way, because you cannot manage that by yourself,” Sinner told News Corp.
“When people speak about you; I am the guy who likes to not read or find out what other people think – if it’s positive or negative, I don’t care.
“I have my family and my team behind me and I stick close to them, because they always want you – if you play bad or good, if you win or lose – and I think that helps me.”
Sinner rocketed up the tennis rankings last year but wasn’t able to better his career-best grand slam result of making the 2020 French Open quarter-finals.
He beat Alex Zverev before a competitive defeat to 13-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal, who also eliminated him at last year’s clay-court grand slam.
Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud, Hubert Hurkacz, Roberto Bautista Agut (three times), Diego Schwartzman and Gael Monfils (twice) were among Sinner’s high-profile victims in 2021.
But there were also defeats to Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev and Zverev that reminded Sinner he must continue to strive to reach another level.
“I think the top players have something more than me, for sure,” he said.
“I have to learn these kinds of things and I’m trying to understand what they have and what I have to improve and this is why I always look forward to these matches.
“In the beginning it is not easy, because you’re playing against your idols, but in the other way it is what you want and this is what you’re working for, playing big matches on the big stage.”
There is also evidence already that Sinner will be a positive influence away from the court, where he developed the ‘What’s Kept You Moving?’ Instagram series to encourage people to speak about their mental health.
“Italy was in a very tough situation (with Covid-19) and people were dying,” he said.
“Also, my generation, the younger generation, was struggling, especially mentally, so we decided to come up with a way to help them try to speak a little bit open.”
Sinner faces Portuguese lucky loser Joao Sousa in the first round of the Australian Open and is projected to meet eighth-seeded Norwegian Ruud in the round of 16.
