Jannik Sinner left skiing and seeks to be the king of tennis: profile of the new wonder

Jannik Sinner He is the man of the moment in the world of tennis, a little-known name, but one that is slowly making its way into the history of this sport.

At only 22 years old, he has shown that he is made for great feats in a discipline in which he arrived at the whim of his father.

Startup

Determined, calculating and cold-blooded, that's what the Trasalpino became on the tennis court and he demonstrated it again last Sunday in the final of the Miami Masters 1000, There he exhibited his best tennis to take an overwhelming victory in just one hour and 13 minutes against the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (6-3 and 6-1) and show the planet that he wants to be number one.

“It has been a pleasure to see him, but definitely not a pleasure to play against him (…) There was no match,” Dimitrov said about his rival.

Sinner ended the bad streak he had in Miami, where he lost two finals (2021 against Hubert Hurkacz by 6-7 and 4-6 and against Daniil Medvedev by 5-7 and 3-6 in 2023), but the third time was the charm and he was able to claim champion for the third time this year after winning the Australian Open and the ATP 500 Rotterdam.

The Italian, at only 22 years old, achieved what no one in his country achieved in history. His triumph in USA allowed him to unseat the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz and be the second best ranked tennis player in the ATP world ranking. “Being number two is a great feeling, I never imagined reaching this point,” Sinner admitted.

That's how it started

His career has taken off like a rocket. Sinner came to carom tennis, the first racket he held in his hand was when he was 7 years old because his father liked that sport and was infatuated that he should play it. In his childhood there was only one dream: to be a great skier.

Sinner was born in San Candido, border of Italy with Austriafell in love with the white valleys of Sesto-Val-Fiscalina (northern Italian), where she lived part of her childhood because her parents worked as a chef and waitress at the Talschlusshutte restaurant.

At the age of 8 he became one of the most promising figures in the country and at the age of 12 he already had a national giant slalom championship and second place in four tours. Being just a child he had to make the decision and chose tennis because his life was less at risk and because a mistake would not bring him a fatal outcome.

“I am a normal boy who grew up in the mountains and loves winter sports, but they were too risky for me, that's why I opted for tennis,” he said in Vitality Fair magazine.

“When skiing you have to go down a hill for about 90 seconds. If you make a mistake, you are finished… In tennis you can play for two hours, make a lot of mistakes and win the match,” he added.

In 2013 he dedicated himself fully to tennis. He watched his idol's games Roger Federer in the grand slams and those victories pushed him to make sacrifices and have dedication. Although he started late, he showed that sport was always his destiny.

At the age of 17 he began to excel, winning tournaments in Trento, Bergamo, Santa Margherita di Pula, the Ortisei Challengers, Lexington, the ATP Next Generation Finals 2019 in Milan and was decorated as Irruption of that same year at the ATP Awards.

His meteoric rise continued year after year, winning his first ATP title in 2020 (Sofia Open), being, at 19 years old, the youngest player to win the ATP 500 in Washington,
a victory that allowed him to enter the 'top-10' of the world listing, being the first born after 2000 to do so.

“I come from a very normal family, my father still works and my mother, too. For me, sport is one thing and life is another,” he said after winning in Miami when remembering his roots, those that he does not forget and that drive him to be the best on the planet.

Despite his achievements, he has one last mountain to climb, dethroning the Serbian Novak Djokovica rival whom he already defeated last year in the final of the Davis cup to lead his nation to win the title after 47 years of waiting.

Sinner is, without a doubt, the rival to beat, he won 41 of his last 44 games, in 2024 he has a balance of 22 victories and only one defeat (against Alcaraz). The secret of his game is a strong mentality, which his rivals have not been able to overcome.

“When you are young you don't control those (tense) situations. But now I manage them better. Because of my personality, I always try to stay calm, but you don't have to sit idly by, you have to attack. You have to mentally concentrate on all the situations on the court,” she specified.

Their next challenge will be Monte Carlo, the tournament that starts today. He arrives as the top candidate for the title and wants to become the second player in the Open Era to win the Australian Open, the Miami Masters 1000 and Monte Carlo in the same year, after what Djokovic did in 2015.

“The clay court season is coming and it's hard for me, let's see what I can do this year. Without a doubt, the main objective is Roland Garros, but first I have Rome, “For me it is a very special tournament, I play in front of my audience, it is always fantastic,” said a Sinner who scares when he jumps onto the court and who can be Alcaraz's headache.