Jannik Sinner: "My dream is to defeat Roger Federer at Wimbledon"
Italian youngster Jannik Sinner won the NextGen ATP finals last year and celebrated his first win against a top 10 player this year. However, the future should have far greater successes ready.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Apr 03, 2020, 09:38 am
When Jannik Sinner is on the pitch, it all looks pretty complete . Solid forehand, solid backhand - there are no major weaknesses in South Tyrol. This is hardly surprising for a man who has the ambition to play in the big boys' circus. But Jannik Sinner is just tender 18 years old, so he would have good reason to have one or two construction sites in his game. The South Tyrolean impressively demonstrated in the autumn of last year that this "complete" game was also a success. First he played in the semi-finals at the ATP 250 event in Antwerp, knocked out a seasoned top 10 player with Gael Monfils. A few weeks later, the Italian shooting star followed suit and celebrated the biggest success of his career so far at the NextGen ATP finals.
This brought Sinner not only the respect of his great role models when he was allowed to train with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at the US Open, but also older legends of tennis sport were extremely positive about the teenager. John McEnroe, who sees Jannik Sinner as "one of the most talented players in recent years". A talent that the youngster seems to be well aware of: "I want to win the US Open. My big dream is to defeat Roger Federer at Wimbledon," Ubitennis.com quoted the 18-year-old . Sinner also looks up to Federer's long-standing opponent, Rafael Nadal: "I trained with Rafa in Melbourne. I would like to have his personality. The big goal is to play at his level and achieve his consistency."
The SinnerPizzaChallenge
Currently Sinner has to take a break too, like almost all tennis professionals, is currently at home. "The priority is not tennis, we have to fight the corona virus. The return to the tennis court will be exciting. Everyone will have more adrenaline. It will be a battle and I like battles," said Sinner. He plays with the racket at home three to four times a week, the tennis club is of course closed. However, Jannik Sinner leads the fight to contain the coronavirus in his very own way. A few days ago, the youngster launched the "SinnerPizzaChallenge". "For every photo you upload of a pizza that looks like me or an Italian character from the past or the present, we donate 10 euros," said Sinner.
It is also the corona virus that caused Jannik Sinner to postpone the fulfillment of his greatest dream by at least a year. The Grand Slam in Wimbledon was canceled these days, "the health risk" is simply too great. "I hope Federer will play another year, so that our game on Center Court will be postponed to 2021," Sinner said, taking the decision with humor.