The Italian reflects on the change of attitude that helped him win his first grand slam in Australia as he bids for more glory at the French Open
Jannik Sinner has climbed to No 2 in the world after winning the Australian Open and beating Novak Djokovic in three of their past four meetings.Jannik Sinner has climbed to No 2 in the world after winning the Australian Open and beating Novak Djokovic in three of their past four meetings.
Sinner shrugs wryly as he recalls a tumultuous match he led by two sets to one before being unhinged by frustration. “There were too many ups and downs, emotionally. It can happen – you play one set good, one set bad – especially on clay. But I was not happy on court and without reason. My team said: ‘Why do you have this attitude?’ They were right and I’ve always believed that if you want to improve you have to accept what you’ve done wrong.
Sinner has a curious phrase – “I like to dance in the pressure storm” – and he smiles. “You have to enjoy the pressure because it’s not like we are doctors doing surgery. You make a mistake as a doctor and it can cost a life. We just win or lose and next week you have another chance.” He looks very young as he laughs. But he carries a resilience forged when he left home at 14. Even a year earlier tennis had still been Sinner’s third-favourite sport behind football and skiing, where he was a national junior champion in giant slalom. He grew up in South Tirol in northern Italy, close to the Austrian border, where German is the local language. Sinner’s father was a chef and his mother a waitress at the ski lodge where they lived.
“It helped that, with Luka, I felt very safe. His daughter was five years younger than me and the son a bit smaller. I was like their older brother and they also had a dog. I love animals and we never had a dog because my parents were working so hard. The only problem was the communication because my Italian was not good and Luka’s wife and me used hand signs instead of talking. They were amazing and I don’t know where I’d be without them.
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