Since his triumph at the Australian Open, the hype surrounding Jannik Sinner in Italy has known no bounds. However, the Italian tennis youngster has now canceled his participation in another prestigious event.
With his success against Daniil Medvedev in the final of the Australian Open, Jannik Sinner made sports history last Sunday – at just 21 years old.
The South Tyrolean is only the third Italian tennis player to win a Grand Slam tournament in men’s singles – and the first since Adriano Panatta in 1976.
Sinner, along with Lorenzo Musetti, Matteo Arnaldi, Lorenzo Sonego and Simone Bolelli, had already triggered a huge tennis hype in Italy with his triumph in the Davis Cup in November.
Sinner has been in demand since his return to Italy. The current highlight for number four in the world rankings was an invitation to the traditional Sanremo, the country’s largest music festival, which starts next week in the coastal town of the same name. But Sinner politely declined – because he wanted to concentrate fully on his next sporting tasks.
Tennis youngster Sinner: “I sing terribly, I dance even worse”
“I will watch the Sanremo from home. It’s a nice event, but I have to work to prepare for the next tournaments. So I won’t go,” the 21-year-old made clear at a press conference in Rome.
Shortly after his triumph in Melbourne, Sinner was asked by the Italian daily newspaper “Corriere della Sera” about the almost obligatory visit to Sanremo.
The new star in tennis responded similarly resolutely, but also with a lot of self-irony: “Knowing me, I wouldn’t go there. I sing terribly, I dance even worse: I’m miserable at that. Here in Melbourne “They wanted to make me yodel. Forget it! I have to play tennis.”
Sanremo presenter Amadeus addressed Sinner with personal words during the week – and further sparked the headlines in the country: “Dear Jannik, when I invited you to Sanremo, I did so from the heart and thought that I would Wish of millions and millions of Italians interpret. If you decide not to come to Sanremo, I will understand. It is important that you dedicate yourself to tennis. Of course we are sorry in Sanremo, but that doesn’t change anything, we will always cheer you on because you are a true Italian pride.”