The Next Gen Finals are about to start, and one of the most interesting players around will be Jannik Sinner. There is a lot of enthusiasm for the Italian that has been showing fantastic tennis coupled with a mental strength that is a key characteristic for great champions.
Sinner, skiing, and Djokovic
Jannik comes from a part of Italy that is extremely close to Austria and where many people have skiing as their primary sport. Sinner was skiing regularly, and he was playing tennis only as a hobby until the renowned Maestro Riccardo Piatti spot his talent. Then, Jannik chose tennis as “his sport,” and that was clearly a winning decision as he is already in the top100 at just 18 years of age.
Jannik is often compared to Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic. The Serb has always stated that skiing helped him to play a better tennis. When asked to comment on this statement, Jannik said:
“They are two very different sports, but balance is very important in both of them so I can understand why Novak said it is helping his tennis. Something else is that if you think a bit less in tennis, that is a help, and when you are racing, it is better you don’t think so much either and just do it naturally. ”
Back to skiing, Sinner was the Italian champion in his age group in 2008, and he was second in 2012.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7Tgzex8ZIU
Sinner and Berretting leading Italian hopes
While Italy enjoyed some success on the female side with the notable wins of the Roland Garros with Francesca Schiavone and the US Open with Flavia Pennetta, there was a lot of misery on the men’s’ side. It seems that now everything is changing with Matteo Berrettini qualifying for ATP Finals in London, and Sinner been one of the most interesting Next Gen.
Another good point is that there are some other young Italian players that could hit the headlines like Lorenzo Musetti that won the recent edition of the Australian Open (junior).
Italy deserves more and Sinner and Berrettini can help to provide the necessary spark to generate new champions from the “Bel Paese.”
Time will tell.
Jannik Sinner’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.95, Jannik played his last match on the 24th of October when he capitulated to Gael Monfils 6-3 7-68 in the 2nd round in Vienna.
This year Sinner has a 38-19 win-loss record. The Italian clinched 2 titles in 2019 in the Bergamo Challenger and in the Lexington Challenger. Sinner was the finalist in the Ostrava Challenger.
Novak Djokovic’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.2, Djokovic played his last match on the 3rd of November when he beat Denis Shapovalov 6-3 6-4 in the final in Paris to win his 77th career title.
This year the Serbian has a 53-9 win-loss record. Novak conquered 5 titles in 2019 at the Australian Open, in Madrid, in Wimbledon, in Tokyo and in Paris. Djokovic was the finalist in Rome.
Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic have never played each other.
