It’s a surprise to hear Jannik Sinner failed to achieve his goal in 2020.
Sinner, the world No. 36 from South Tyrol in northern Italy, established himself as the best teenager in men’s tennis – he’s the only male player under the age of 20 to feature inside the top-100 – reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam and won a first ATP Tour title.
He can shoulder little blame for the goal he missed, with the tour’s shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic causing him to only hit half of his matches played target – an aim he’s reset for 2021.
‘My goals are never ranking orientated,’ he tells Metro.co.uk in the week building up to the Australian Open. ‘Last year my goal was to play 60 matches but unfortunately I wasn’t able to play that amount because of Covid.
‘So again, my goal is to play roughly 60 matches and then we’ll see how it goes. In the meantime, I’ll keep working with my team to improve my tennis, my body and to stay as healthy as possible.’
Sinner won 19 of the matches he did play and continued a sharp rise up the rankings that has seen him climb from world No. 550 in February 2019 to inside the top-40 two years later.
His sights, in the long-term, are set considerably higher than just completing a total of matches.
‘Obviously I play because I dream of becoming No. 1 in the world and to win a Grand Slam,’ he admits, before adding: ‘But the most important thing is to focus on my development.’
What Sinner – who was a champion skier in his youth – can go on to achieve, only time will tell. But those well-established within the game have earmarked him as a future star.
Novak Djokovic, the world No. 1 from Serbia who played a set against Sinner in an exhibition event in Adelaide last week, is among them.
‘(Sinner) definitely possesses a game that is powerful and is with a lot of quality, and you can say he has the potential to be a top player of the world,’ said the 17-time Grand Slam champion last year.
‘Sinner is definitely, I would say, the leader of the guys younger than (Alexander) Zverev and (Stefanos) Tsitsipas, who I think by many experts’ opinions the next “top” top player.’
It’s easy to see why. Sinner, who has a mop of red hair on top of his pale frame, boasts relentless, effortless power off both wings and speed of foot as well as speed of mind. Few of the young pretenders are as easy on the eye.
Roger Federer, who won his first Grand Slam title before Sinner’s second birthday, was the player he idolised growing up but he has heard his playing style compared most to former Russian world No. 1 Marat Safin.
Rafael Nadal, like Djokovic, appears to rate the 19-year-old highly. Nadal, the world No. 2 from Spain, invited Sinner to train with him every day for their enforced two-week quarantine period upon entry to Australia.
Sinner’s coach, Riccardo Piatti – whose coaching resume includes spells with Djokovic and Maria Sharapova – is friendly with Nadal’s coach and former world No. 1 Carlos Moya and the two parties decided it would be beneficial for both players, who had practised together a few times before, to team up for a fortnight in Adelaide.
‘Spending that time with Rafa was fantastic, I learnt a lot on every level,’ says Sinner. ‘What was great for me to see about Rafa, as I see from other champions, is the impressive way in which he thinks and approaches every practice and every ball.
‘He is a super nice and humble person and something I really learnt from him was the intensity he puts into every single practice. Every time he steps on court it’s like he is playing a final of a Grand Slam.
‘I got a lot out of spending two weeks training with him, and I feel blessed and honoured that he chose me to prepare for such an important event like the Australian Open. I also really liked his team, they are all friendly, fun and really nice people.’
It was perhaps no surprise to see Nadal invite Sinner to spend the two-week quarantine period training with him. He saw first-hand just how good the young Italian is in October’s French Open quarter-finals.
Sinner thrilled a reduced-capacity crowd on Philippe-Chatrier, pushing the ‘King of Clay’ to the limit in the first two sets on his favourite court.
Indeed, the Italian served for the first set and feels a sense of regret that he didn’t convert.
‘I felt good when I entered the stadium to play against Rafa, he is the “King of Clay” and one of the best players of all time, not easy, but I tried to stay focused,’ says Sinner.
Jannik Sinner fact file
Age: 19
Nationality: Italian
ATP titles: 1 (Sofia, 2020)
Best Slam result: Quarter-finals (French Open, 2020)
‘I was disappointed to not have won the first set because I think I could have with how I was playing, but then in the important moments his experience really showed and he beat me.
‘If I had won the first set, that in no way means I would’ve won the match, but to get a set from Nadal would have been great and I was disappointed I didn’t…’
Still, it’s a tournament he’ll remember fondly. David Goffin, the world No. 14 from Belgium, and Alexander Zverev, the world No. 7 from Germany, were two of the casualties to fall to the Italian youngster on his debut on the clay courts of Paris.
‘Well, when I saw the draw, I knew it would be tough…. Goffin in the first round of my first Grand Slam on clay was not an easy draw, but I tried to keep calm and to think of one match at the time,’ adds Sinner.
‘The conditions in Paris were really difficult, very, very cold, rainy and there were many match delays because of the weather… but I managed to find a good level to compete well.
‘For sure, I was surprised to have gone so far, it was amazing, but straight after it was back to work to work on getting better.’
Prior to two weeks practising with Nadal in Adelaide, Sinner spent the majority of his time in the off-season at his Monaco training base as well as a few days visiting his parents’ home in northern Italy.
There were two main targets: to bulk up his slight frame and improve his serve.
‘I’d rather play tennis for 10 hours than do one hour with my trainer [Dalibor Sirola] because he kills me every time but it’s for the best and he is the best,’ he says.
In an age where there’s a desperation to crown a successor to the throne so long occupied by Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, Sinner will have to remain grounded in the face of ever-increasing external noise and expectation. So far, so good.
‘I think that I still have so much to learn and to experience before being a complete tennis player,’ he says.
‘So far in my career since turning professional two years ago, I’ve always been moving up in the rankings, but it doesn’t mean that I will not encounter difficulties and tough moments in the future because I’m still a work in progress.
‘At the end of the season for the last two years I have played well, winning Next Gen finals in Milan 2 years ago, then winning in Sofia at the end of 2020, but I don’t see these victories as goals but rather as part of the process to become more a complete and experienced player.’
MORE : Heather Watson column: What life in Australian Open quarantine is like
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