Jannik Sinner will become the world number one: “It’s a special moment for me”.
Everyone already knew it, except him. “On Monday, at 22 years of age, you will be the new world number one. The first Italian”, Fabrice Santoro informed Sinner during the on-court interview and surrounded by the cheering crowd.
The Australian Open champion looked around and visibly got emotional. With nervous laughter, thanked his team and the crowd. A happy moment. “It’s every tennis player’s dream, a dream to be number one,” Sinner said.
While he was playing in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros at the Philippe Chatrier, Novak Djokovic announced his withdrawal from the tournament due to knee injury. Thus, he will not be able to defend all the points he won in 2023, and whatever happens, the Italian will come out on top. “Seeing Novak withdraw is disappointing for everyone. I wish him a speedy recovery, but I try not to think too much about that, because in this tournament I’ve struggled in past editions. I’m happy to be in the semifinals,” he said after the 6-2, 6-4, 7-6(3) win over Grigor Dimitrov. He will face either Carlos Alcaraz or Stefanos Tsitsipas for a place in the final.
He will surely be thinking about his parents, whom Sinner has mentioned in important moments. Like when he won his first Grand Slam: “I wish everyone could have my parents, because they let me choose whatever I wanted. I liked other sports, but they never pressured me. I wish any kid could have that freedom.”
Sinner will be the 29th number one in the Open Era. The wish of that boy who at the age of eleven was torn between skis and racquets: Sinner, a native of the mountainous region of northern Italy, was a national slalom champion before devoting himself entirely to tennis.
After a brilliant start to the year with the Melbourne title, triumphs at the ATP 500 in Rotterdam and the Masters 1000 in Miami, it was only a matter of time before the Italian made it to the top spot in male’s tennis.
