Lindsey Vonn, an alpine ski racer, has praised Jannik Sinner and made a comparison between him and tennis great Roger Federer.
Recently, Sinner achieved his first Grand Slam victory at the Australian Open. Overcoming a two-set deficit, he defeated Daniil Medvedev 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in the final match. The Italian’s victory made him the Melbourne Slam’s youngest winner since Novak Djokovic in 2008.
Vonn, who had backed Sinner before the final match, congratulated the Italian on his victory and sarcastically called him the ‘best skier’ to win a major title because of his competitive skiing experience.
In a recent interview, Vonn revealed a bit about her relationship with Sinner, saying that their shared passion for skiing was what first brought them together. She revealed the tennis player’s shy personality by calling him a decent and modest man. The American expressed her admiration for the 22-year-old’s tennis attitude as well, citing his background in skiing.
Vonn expressed her thoughts about Sinner and said: “I always thought it was really special that he [Jannik Sinner] was a former ski racer and that’s obviously where we connected. He’s a pretty shy guy, but he’s really humble and always super kind. I think he has a great perspective on the sport and I think, to a degree, some of that comes from skiing. We’ve talked about it quite a few times. He’s just a great athlete and very smart, and I’m not surprised that he won in Australia. I thought he would win before he did, but he’s someone who’s going to be around for a long time.”
Vonn said she wasn’t surprised by his victory at the Australian Open and that she had anticipated a Grand Slam victory much sooner. Then, the former gold medalist at the Olympics said that Sinner reminded her of Swiss legend Federer.
She added: “And he reminds me of Roger, to be honest. If he’s under pressure and he’s got to serve, he’s got a match point or something, and the perspective is that if he misses the point, nothing is going to happen. So it’s the kind of fearlessness with which he puts everything out there, no matter what the situation. And that perspective, I think, is different from most people and most athletes, and I think he uses that to his advantage.”
Jannik Sinner in 2024
Now ranked no.4 (career-high), the Italian played his last match on the 28th of January when he defeated world no.3 Daniil Medvedev 3-6 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-3 in the final of the Australian Open to win his 12th career title.
This season Sinner has managed to achieve an overall 7-0 match record. This year, Jannik won 1 tournament at the Australian Open.
Sinner will play next in Marseille (Open 13 Provence). He will start the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 5th of February.