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On September 9, Italian tennis pro Jannik Sinner became the first man from his country to be crowned the US Open Champion. Sinner took down Taylor Fritz with a scoreline of 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 to claim the second Grand Slam title of the season. The enthralling clash that took place at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York saw the 23-year-old tennis star recording his name in the history book of tennis with golden ink.
This is not it as Sinner is the first man since Guillermo Vilas all the way back in 1977 to win major titles No. 1 and No. 2 within the same season. In addition, Sinner became the first Italian player in the history of the sport to reach the top of the ranking charts. Till now, Sinner has won 16 titles on the ATP Tour, including two majors. Sinner also has three Masters 1000 titles in his trophy cabinet. Talking about his other achievements, Sinner led Italy to first Davis Cup title since 1976 when he won it in 2023.
Jannik Sinner: from being a ski champion to becoming a tennis pro
Not many know but tennis was never the first preference for Sinner who grew up in the German-speaking area of the Italian Dolomites. He won a national junior title in ski but gave up the sport altogether to pursue tennis, without knowing that something greater was awaiting him. He left home at the age of 13 and enrolled himself in a tennis academy. Sinner’s parents worked in a ski lodge, where his father was a chef and his mother worked as a waitress.
Sinner’s parents taught him to work for the good from a very young age. The tennis star had earlier said, “That’s the kind of mentality they gave me: ‘If you want to reach something, you have to work.’ This kind of work ethic you can learn but most of the time it’s because your parents give it to you.”
Nice to see new champions, nice to see new rivalries: Jannik Sinner
Following his win at the US Open, Sinner said that he is enjoying seeing new champions and new rivalries and the fact that the sport is entering into its new era. According to Sinner, "It is a bit different, for sure. It's something new, but it's also nice to see - nice to see new champions, nice to see new rivalries. I feel it's good for the sport to have some new champions." The 23-year-old added, "I always have players and I will always have players who are going to make me a better player, because there are going to be times where they beat me.”
