Jannik Sinner will not be going to Sanremo: he confirmed it during the press conference at Fitp: «I will be cheering from home. It’s a beautiful event but after these days I look forward and, when I should go to the Festival, I will already be working.”
Then we go back to talking about the court and the Slams: «Our goal this year is to play the grand slams better, there are three others. In Australia it couldn’t have gone better than this. The season doesn’t end here, it’s just begun. I missed the competition so much, when I arrived in Australia the first tournament was Melbourne, I was excited and I felt good. In every tournament we go hunting, let’s see what we can catch. My opponents now know me, they know my weaknesses. Most of them have little to lose when they face me, but I like it. Yesterday I wrote to my team: “guys we have to prepare because we have to work”. We will do even more work than before and we will be increasingly focused.”
– Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani meets Jannik Sinner at the Farnesina
Sinner is increasingly in people’s hearts, as demonstrated by the love on social media and the crowds in Rome: «I’m happy to share all these emotions, but there isn’t just one tournament, there are many. We have many possibilities to do well, but also to do badly. We must be ready but happy with this situation, this finish line is important for me and my team. You can feel the warmth of the people, I like it but as a boy I’m like two weeks ago, simple and normal.” Then he comments on the program to follow after the Australian triumph: «Planning will be very important, we did very well last year, my body is now quite good but I know I have to improve that part, strength but also endurance. It will take a lot of work in the gym. I can serve a little better, do everything a little better.”
The Australian triumph as the first great achievement. Sinner is currently number 4 in the world, the goal is to climb up to Djokovic’s throne: «I’m calm: my team and I work to achieve goals and dreams. My dream was to win a slam and now I know how it feels. Let’s work to relive this feeling. Now I have to work because that’s what brought me success. Number 1? There are differences between the top five in the world and then between the top three… Let’s try to take it one step at a time.”
–
Training, training and more training. This is Sinner’s trick for his success: «A quality of mine? Maybe work. In the end there are no secrets. To get to the finish line you have to work, perhaps more than others. I wake up in the morning and the first thing I think is: I have to train. In my head it’s always a tennis match: I have to go onto the court calmly with the desire to win. I’m not afraid for the future because if my opponent is better, I’ll give him my hand.” Then a parenthesis on his team: «It doesn’t necessarily have to be the best but it must be made up of people who understand each other. The important thing is that everyone does their job. All good and normal people, this is what I was looking for when I chose to change.”
One of the reasons why Jannik Sinner is liked so much is probably also because he is a normal boy in a world where we tend to flaunt everything. He is different, as demonstrated by his aversion towards social media: «I don’t like them, they don’t tell the truth and then you see certain things… you have to be careful. If today, for example, I feel bad and cry and I post a happy photo on social media, I send the wrong message, no one knows that I’m actually at home and crying. I stay away from social media, I try to use them very little even if sometimes I have to check them. However, I am living better without it and will continue like this. TV series? In Australia I was seeing “Animal Kingdom” but here in Italy you can’t see it (laughs). For books, there are times when I read a lot and others when I don’t read.”
Sinner’s gaze is focused on the next Slams but also on the Paris Olympics: «They will be a key moment for me and for my growth. It will be the first time I play them. I will be happy to be part of it. There will be all the best athletes in the world who I can’t wait to meet and get positive ideas. It will certainly be one of the most important tournaments of the year – she added – I’m happy to play them, let’s hope Italy can bring home as many medals as possible.” On the possibility of being the blue standard-bearer she instead replied: “I’m not thinking about it yet.”
A promise, fame and notoriety will not change him: «Compared to 2019, when I came to Rome to play the qualifiers, I have changed. With age you necessarily change, but the main things remain. If you are humble, keep working: success is a positive thing but it doesn’t change you. I hope I’m not wrong, but I’m pretty sure I’ll stay the same. Certainly in 2019 I had many more doubts: I wanted to get there. I wondered if I was doing the right things. Now I’m much more aware. Before the match you always have doubts, then maybe you ask yourself why you had them. But it’s normal.”
– Jannik Sinner resumes training
Many compliments are pouring in on him, first of all those from his Davis Cup teammates, including Matteo Berrettini: «He wrote me a beautiful message, he’s a really strong player, I hope to see him back in shape, it’s a person who is missing a bit in the circuit. He gave me great compliments like the whole Davis Cup team. Matteo has always helped me, I am grateful to him, if he were to ask me something I am open and ready to help him too.” Finally, his passion for skiing and his increasingly confidential relationship with Alberto Tomba: «We talk, he’s a great guy. He is a legend and just being in contact excites me. We hope to go skiing together, it would be special. I asked him at Christmas but he had to be with his family. Let’s hope it can be organised. He said I look like Clark Kent turning into Superman? I don’t feel like a superhero.”