Jannik Sinner is one of the brightest young talents in recent memory. The Italian, who turned 21 last month, has already triumphed at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, competed in the Nitto ATP Finals, lifted six tour-level trophies and cracked the Top 10 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
Do not tell him about his accomplishments, though. According to Sinner, this is just the beginning, which is a scary thought for his colleagues on the ATP Tour.
“I know already what I have in my game, so I try to stay confident with that, but also humble because at the end of the day I didn’t win basically nothing or for sure no important matches,” Sinner told ATPTour.com. “It’s all part of the process. I don’t want to rush myself, but I think I can be proud of what I am doing, so hopefully I keep this up.”
For Sinner, this is not about rushing to lift a particular trophy or defeating a particular opponent. From a young age, he has had lofty ambitions. On Wednesday, he will play Carlos Alcaraz in the US Open quarter-finals. But just three years ago, he was a qualifier who spoke to the media in a small cubicle inside the media centre at Flushing Meadows.
“I want to be the best player not only in Italy,” Sinner said that day. “But maybe once I can say that I’m the best player in the world.”
Jannik Sinner” />
Sinner competing in US Open qualifying in 2019 aged 18.
That is not something Sinner has ever expected to happen overnight. In fact, he constantly speaks about the “long road” of his career and how there is always something to improve on. The San Candido-native often heads to the practice court after matches, even long, gruelling battles, in order to make even the smallest refinement to move closer to his ultimate potential.
That mentality stems from Sinner’s childhood.
“I’ve always had this because my parents, they gave me this kind of mentality, so I have it with me. I’m proud to have this kind of mentality,” Sinner said. “I like the way my mom and my dad are, so I like to be very similar to them. I think also my brother is quite the same. I think I’ve always had it.”
Sinner’s father, Johann, is a chef at the Talschlusshutte restaurant in Sesto-Val-Fiscalina, right near the Austrian border in Italy’s northeast. His mother, Siglinde, was a server in the same restaurant.
“Now because we also have some apartments at home, my mom is helping to clean the apartments and everything because the apartments are…
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