Jannik Sinner nonetheless has one purpose earlier than the top of the season. The world No. 1 – who gained eight titles in 2024 and simply gained the ATP Finals in Turin – needs to assist Italy win its second consecutive Davis Cup.
The 23-year-old from Sesto Pusteria was the good protagonist of 2024, who completed on the high of the ATP rating, trimming an enormous hole to all his rivals. The Italian ace gained two Grand Slam titles, three Masters 1000, the ATP Finals and two ATP 500, whereas he was unable to take part within the Paris Olympics on account of tonsillitis.
Jannik Sinner, ATP Finals 2024© Stream screenshot
The two-time Grand Slam champion is the perfect participant on the earth proper now and – though he does not have the peaks of his nice rival Carlos Alcaraz – he’s rather more constant through the season. Jannik has collected greater than 90% of wins from January till at present and has suffered solely six defeats, unbelievable numbers for a participant of simply 23 years outdated.
Italy have a superb likelihood of repeating final yr’s triumph in Malaga, particularly after the stunning elimination of Spain yesterday. The Italian workforce led by captain Filippo Volandri – who will make his debut towards Argentina – can depend on Sinner, Lorenzo Musetti, Matteo Berrettini, Andrea Vavassori and Simone Bolelli.
One final purpose
In 2024, Sinner gained 72 matches and suffered solely six losses. His mere presence on the court docket evokes worry in opponents and he may be deployed in doubles on the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga.
After his win on the Nitto ATP Finals final week, the World No.1 mirrored on his present stage: “I actually believe there is still gap of improvement. I mean, I served very, very good at times, which was not the case throughout the whole tournament.
There are still certain shots and points what I can make sometimes better, but are small details. The higher you play level-wise, the more details make the difference.
I’m not looking about being the first whatever. It’s just stats what’s not written. Me, always try to improve as a player and trying to understand what I can do better. Let’s see what’s coming next year. The future, nobody can predict.”
The two-time Grand Slam champion arrived in Malaga on Tuesday and instantly started working towards very onerous together with his compatriot Lorenzo Musetti. Within the tie towards Argentina, Sinner might face Sebastian Baez or Francisco Cerundolo. The more than likely speculation is that the Argentine captain Guillermo Coria deploys Cerundolo, whose recreation can create extra difficulties for Jannik. Francisco has already defeated the world No. 1 on the Miami Open in 2022 and on the Roma Masters 1000 final yr.
Jannik’s stage in 2024 shocked everybody, and his opponents needed to acknowledge his superiority. Just lately, former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev expressed his candid opinion on Sinner: “I feel he is nice. However I might surprise if he would stay in Italy how it will be as a result of he does not. It is a bit bit simpler. Yeah, I imply, I feel he deserves it. Like all the pieces: the contracts, ads, no matter. He is a handsome No. 1 on the earth, wins a number of tournaments. Very younger, which is all the time engaging.
He is 23. He has perhaps 13, 14 years forward of him the place he can play, play, win, win. So it is regular. I feel he feels high-quality with it. So why ought to I be sorry for him?”
Sinner’s impressive mental strength
Sinner’s mental strength has been even more evident during this season. The world number 1 had to deal with a very thorny doping case, which damaged his image although he was recognized as innocent by ITIA. The 23-year-old from Sesto Pusteria could still be disqualified, as WADA has decided to appeal against the acquittal sentence.
At the same time, his growing popularity has made him the subject of gossip. In recent days, the rumor has circulated that his love-story with his colleague Anna Kalinskaya would have come to an end. The WTA star was not present in Turin last week and posted a series of photos on her social networks in which she was in Miami with some friends. In addition, the two champions have unfollowed each other on Instagram.
Jannik Sinner and Anna Kalinskaya© YouTube screenshot
The world no 1 has by no means needed to speak a lot about this matter, preferring to guard his personal life and focus solely on tennis. There isn’t any doubt that every one these circumstances have undermined the serenity of the Italian participant, who manages to overlook all the pieces when he enters the court docket. The two-time Grand Slam champion will attempt to keep this tempo in 2025, by which he must defend many factors through the yr.
