Jannik Sinner (21) thinks he has what it takes to become the new face of international tennis. The tools, brains and looks of a superstar, and an idiosyncratic way of working with which he tries to find his way to the top. As a tennis player and as a style icon.
To achieve that, the current number fourteen in the world ranking has built a small team around him led by his manager Lawrence Frankopan of Star Wing Sports. “If everything continues to go well, then I can become a very big player,” says Sinner in the players’ residence of the ABN Amro tournament in Rotterdam.
Anyone who reads the words of the Italian just like that might think that he is a bluff guy. But that’s not his style. The young man in his twenties is personable, calmly thinks about his answers and sits quietly with his manager for half an hour for an interview with NRCwhile the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) had set aside only fifteen to twenty minutes. “I consciously walk my own way to the top,” says Sinner in English. “All those other tennis players do that too. I think all those different personalities are what make tennis so interesting.”
Read also: this profile of tournament director Richard Krajicekwho turned from a tough soloist into a flexible team player
Sinner was born on August 16, 2001 in Innichen. An Italian municipality in South Tyrol where the official language is German. Sinner grew up in the Puster Valley as the son of a father and a mother who both worked in a ski lodge. Sinner grows up almost with skis under his feet and soon proves to be talented. Between the ages of eight and twelve, he is one of the best skiers in Italy. Alberto Tomba is his hero. He also plays football and tennis. “Still, I’m glad I chose tennis,” says Sinner with a laugh. “This really suits me best.”
Sinner hastens to explain that skiing is in his eyes only play used to be. “I just did that with my friends before or after school. Just for fun,” he says. “Just like I played tennis for fun. It wasn’t until I was fourteen that I started to deal with it professionally. Much later than many others. As a professional I still enjoy the game, but you also have to work hard, live a disciplined life and be able to endure pain to get far.”
‘I am grateful to Krajicek’
Sinner can do all that. His star is rising fast. He has only been an official professional tennis player for a few years when he was eighteen Next Gen ATP Finals (which can be seen as the World Cup for players under twenty years) to his name. A few months later he gets one wildcard from tournament director Richard Krajicek for the 2020 ABN Amro tournament. Sinner has not forgotten that gesture. “I remember that I was very excited to play here in Rotterdam for the first time. But just before I had to take office, my opponent Radu Albot withdrew sick. Because no one feels like lucky loser registered, I was just in the second round. I beat the Belgian David Goffin. My first victory over someone from the top 10,” says Sinner. “I am grateful to Krajicek for that.”
Later that year, Sinner became the youngest player since Kei Nishikori in 2008 to win an ATP tournament. The great Italian talent quickly becomes one of the new challengers of the super trio Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. In the past three years, Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz managed to briefly conquer the top position of the world rankings and Federer retired from tennis, but Djokovic impressively restored hegemony at the Australian Open. “A whole generation did not intervene in the big three,” says Sinner. “But the time of new champions will come.”
There are times when almost everything seems to go by itself. Then I don’t need any help.
Sinner belongs to the youngest group of challengers with Alcaraz (19), Holger Rune (19) and Félix Auger-Aliassime (22). Slightly above that are tennis players such as Stefanos Tsitsipas (24), Casper Ruud (24), Alexander Zverev (25) and Medvedev (27) who have been trying to forget the ‘big three’ for some time. Sinner shifts his position when asked what makes Djokovic so special. He met the Serbian twice last year and lost both times. On the gravel of Monte Carlo and on the grass of Wimbledon. “Novak has so much experience. Won so much. And he just keeps winning. Maybe he works harder than everyone else? Is he more professional in many areas? I have to find that out to be able to win myself.”
frustration
Sinner never managed to beat Federer, Nadal or Djokovic in an official duel. Although he was close to it in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon last year. Djokovic only triumphed after five sets and later took the title in London. A few months later, Sinner also lost a blistering five-setter in the quarterfinals of the US Open to eventual winner Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard was suddenly the new number one in the world. “I don’t get frustrated easily,” explains Sinner. “But if I lose to someone who then wins a tournament.”
That happened to Sinner in 2022, so twice at a grand slam tournament. And during this year’s Australian Open he went down in five sets against the later finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas, seeded first in the tournament in Rotterdam. Sinner: „After those kinds of defeats you think for a while. What if… But that’s no use to you. You have to accept it and be patient.”
Sinner has arrived at a point where a year of hard work should pay off on the job. He feels he has to be “empty in his head” in order to perform optimally. “There are times when almost everything seems to go by itself. Then I don’t need any help,” says Sinner. “But that’s not always the case.” Sometimes he is assisted by a company that specializes in mental and physical help for top athletes. “They give me exercises so that I make the right decisions in my head.”
He’s getting in better shape. He proved this by winning the Montpellier tournament last week. His seventh ATP title.
Meanwhile, manager Lawrence Frankopan goes to great lengths to provide Sinner with a top notch image off the court. And that is progressing. “I try to do things that suit Jannik. We mainly focus on Italy. Big brands like [de bank] Intesa Sanpaolo, [fitnessbedrijf] Technogym and [modemerk] Gucci suits him,” explains Frankopan. Opposite him, the tennis player listens to the story in sweatpants. “Gucci is not doing tennis clothes yet. And this is where I feel most comfortable,” apologizes Sinner, who previously covered the cover of men’s magazine GQ adorned. Not as number one in the world, but as Gucci’s top model.
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of February 15, 2023