At 18 years of age, Jannik Sinner is probably the most interesting “Next Gen” on the ATP Tour right now. He had a couple of interesting weeks in Antwerp and Vienna to beat top players such as Gael Monfils and Frances Tiafoe and end the season in the top100.
The youngster has impressed with his maturity and also aggressive tennis that makes him take the ball extremely early. Jannik has been compared to the very best, like Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Probably the comparison with Federer comes from the fact that he loves playing near the baseline (still he lacks some game at the net); the comparison with Djokovic is probably coming from his mental strength.
Sinner doesn’t care about being compared to Federer and Djokovic
During a recent interview, Jannik commented: “I do not even read such articles. Everybody is different. I try to take positives.”
Jannik is training renowned tennis coach Riccardo Piatti that commented:
“Jannik has come a long way, he started when he was 13 years old, he came to Bordighera, we saw he was definitely an important talent and this year he grew, and the work paid off. But we should not look at the numbers because the process is long. I am not surprised by what he is achieving because he has the potential, but he needs to work and improve. He is a smart, easy, pleasant, and nice guy.”
The Next Gen Finals and his rivalry vs. Frances Tiafoe
Sinner will face for the second time in few weeks Frances Tiafoe in the opening match of the Next Gen Finals. They played each other recently in Antwerp when the Italian won 6-4 3-6 6-3. Even if Jannik received a wildcard to access this event, he is widely considered as one of the favorites to win the event.
Jannik Sinner’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.95, Sinner played his last match on the 24th of October when he had to surrender to Gael Monfils 6-3 7-68 in the 2nd round in Vienna.
This year Jannik has a 38-19 win-loss record. The Italian has won 2 titles in 2019 in the Bergamo Challenger and in the Lexington Challenger. The Italian was the finalist in the Ostrava Challenger.
Roger Federer’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.3, Federer played his last match on the 27th of October when he beat Alex De Minaur 6-2 6-2 in the final in Basel to win his 103rd career title.
This year Roger has a 49-8 win-loss record. Roger clinched 4 titles in 2019 in Dubai, in Miami, in Halle and in Basel. Roger was the finalist in Indian Wells and in Wimbledon.
Jannik Sinner and Roger Federer have never played each other.
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