Jannik Sinner reached the final as a wild card at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan after a four-set win over Miomir Kezmanovic in the semifinal. The world number 95 scored his third win this week after beating Frances Tiafoe and Mikael Ymer in the first two round robin matches. Despite a defeat against Ugo Humbert the 18-year-old Italian player finished at the top of the round-robin Group B.
Sinner’s win was the perfect birthday present for his coach Riccardo Piatti, who turned 61 on Friday.
“The Milan crowd is unbelievable. Fans are fantastic. I wanted to give a present for Riccardo’s birthday. I hope that I will be able to offer him another present after the final. I didn’t feel so well at the beginning. Kezmanovic was playing very good and very aggressive. I have never had this kind of feeling, so I am happy. My next opponent Alex De Minaur played an unbelievable season. He is a very solid player. He has won three ATP tournaments. I will just try my best”, said Sinner.
Sinner is the rising star of Italian tennis and is the youngest player in the top 100 of the ATP Ranking. The player from Sesto Pusteria in Sudtyrol, who was born on 16th August 2001, became the youngest Italian player in history to win a Challenger tournament in Bergamo last February. He followed up with several ITF Futures tournaments in Trento and Santa Margherita di Pula and a second Challenger title in Lexington last August. He is one of the eleven players in the world to win at least two ATP Challengers before they turned 18.
“Something changed in Bergamo. I played good there, I gained confidence and have kept going”, said Sinner.
Sinner started his sports career in skiing but chose tennis at the age of 13 and left home in 2014 to train in Bordighera. Jannik is grateful to his parents for allowing him to leave home as a child and pursue his dream. Jannik started playing tennis at the age of seven because his father really liked tennis. Jannik’s first idol growing up was Roger Federer. He credits Riccardo Piatti, Massimo Sartori (the coach of Andreas Seppi and a member of Sinner’s coaching team) and his first coach Heribert Mayr for helping him grow as a player.
Sinner started the year ranked world number 551 and made a huge step forward in his career under the guidance of Riccardo Piatti and Andrea Volpini at the Piatti Tennis Centre in Bordighera. Piatti previously coached Ivan Ljubicic, Milos Raonic, Richard Gasquet and Borna Coric and is now working with Maria Sharapova, who will train in Bordighera during the off-season to prepare for the 2020 season.
“Jannik comes from a family with a great culture of work. His father serves as a chef in a chalet in Val Pusteria and his mother works as a waitress in the same place. His elder brother Mark works in Brunico. They have always supported their son’s choices. Jannik is the son every family would dream to have”, said Riccardo Piatti.
Sinner has made his first experience on the ATP Tour last April at the Hungarian Open in Budapest, where he notched his first ATP Tour level win over Mate Valkusz. One week later he reached his second career ATP Challenger final in Ostrava, before losing to Kamil Majchrzak in the title match.
Last May Sinner scored his first ATP Masters 1000 win at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome beating Steve Johnson before losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round. Later this year he qualified for his first Grand Slam Main Draw by winning three matches at the US Open qualifying tournament. He lost to three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka in four sets in the first round at Flushing Meadows.
During the autumn indoor season Jannik became the youngest male tennis player in five years to reach the semifinal at an ATP Tour tournament in Antwerp after beating Gael Monfils. He then received another wild card to play in the main draw of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, where he won his opening match against German veteran Phillip Kohlschreiber to break into the top 100 for the first time in his career.
“I think I have improved everything. We are just improving day after day. That’s our main goal and the results will come. I have to commit myself to improve. In all matches the head is the only thing you can control. Many times you do not control your shots or the opponent, but the head is always with you. The victories give confidence. When I beat Monfils in Antwerp, I understood where I can go. The defeats serve to learn. Among my best matches, I put the loss in four sets against Stan Wawrinka in the first round of the US Open. It was a test to understand at what point I was and I played well”.
The main goals of the Next Gen Finals are to promote a new generation of tennis players and inspire young fans. Many young children are packing the stands of the Palalido Allianz Cloud creating a thrilling atmosphere inside the indoor arena in the heart of Milan. Sinner is aiming at becoming an inspiration for younger Italian players, who are dreaming to follow in the footsteps.
“The young generation is growing and that’s important for tennis. I am trying my best. The younger guys in Italy are all improving a lot, so hopefully I am giving them a little bit of inspiration. I enjoy the spotlight. I think it’s something new. The fans are just trying to cheer for me. Sometimes guys as me are coming up and asking for photos or autographs. It’s strange but it feels good”,concluded Sinner.
