Jannik Sinner won the Next Gen Finals in Milan last week. The young Italian player entered the tournament as a wild card after a good season on tour. He started the year at number 551 on the rankings before making it into the top 100. Jannik was 95th heading into the finals, and while many acknowledged his potential, he was not the favorite to win the tournament.
Congratulations to Jannik Sinner on picking up the second biggest trophy of his life.#NextGenATP pic.twitter.com/9pdvnqIskS
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) November 9, 2019
Jannik wins the title in Milan
However, the 18-year-old put up some dominant performances on his way to the title. He was the first player to qualify for the semifinals after winning his first two matches. Jannik defeated Francis Tiafoe in his first match despite the American being among the favorites. He qualified for the finals against the top seed for the tournament Alex de Minaur. Alex was the finalist at last year’s competition and was widely expected to defeat the young Italian after a strong season. Jannik had other ideas as he overpowered the Australian player, winning the match 4-2 4-1 4-2.
The winner of the Next Gen was skiing champion
The young Italian became the third winner of the tournament after Hyeon Chung in 2017 and Stefanos Tsitsipas last year. Jannik’s victory in Milan was not his first title in professional sports. The 18-year-old won a skiing competition in 2012. He had taken up the sport from eight years of age and achieved success in the juniors. The young Italian was a skilled skier and finished in first place at various events for his age group. However, he chose tennis over skiing when he turned 13-years-old and has not looked back ever since.
Another reason the Next Gen champion chose to play the sport was his coach Ricardo Piatti. Piatti spotted him playing at a young age and invited him to train at the Piatti Tennis Academy. The famous tennis coach has worked with successful tennis players such as Novak Djokovic and Borna Coric. Seeing Piatti taking an interest in him made Jannik feel that he could have some success as a tennis player. He began focusing more on playing the game and soon stopped going skiing. After winning the Next Gen Finals, huge expectations will now follow the young Italian. However, he has said he is ready to take his place at the top of the game. In a past interview, Jannik said his focus was to be the best. “I want to be the best player not only in Italy but maybe once I can say that I’m the best player in the world.”
Jannik Sinner’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.96, the Italian played his last match on the 9th of November when he defeated Alex De Minaur 4-2 4-1 4-2 in the final in Milan to win his 0th career title.
This year Jannik has a 42-20 win-loss record. The Italian has won 3 titles in 2019 in the Bergamo Challenger, in the Lexington Challenger and in Milan. Jannik was the finalist in the Ostrava Challenger.
Jannik Sinner |
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