Italian Sinner, the skier who is hit on court
THE last great tennis player to emerge, incongruously, from an upbringing that took place largely in a mountainous ski area was Novak Djokovic.
Now, according to many independent judges in the game, there might be another on the way in precocious Jannik Sinner.
There is definitely something unusual about the 18-year-old Italian, who will be the youngest player in next week’s ATP NextGen Finals for the world’s top under 21s.
It is not just that, barely five years after concentrating on tennis, he is the youngest member of the world’s top 100. He hails from the German-speaking South Tyrol in the far north of Italy, and was a national age group slalom champion. Sinner comes from the village of Sesto, where his father works as a chef and his mother helps out as a waitress.
Two weeks ago he beat world No 13 Gael Monfils to reach the semi-finals of the European Open in Antwerp, an achievement that played out in the shadow of Andy Murray winning the title.
En route the teenager — fluent in German, Italian and English — revealed his unlikely origins for a possible future champion.
‘It’s a big skiing area, close to Austria, and so it was natural that I did skiing, everyone does it,’ he says. ‘I was Italian champion in my age group in 2008 in slalom and I came second in 2012. I always played a little bit of tennis, maybe twice a week growing up and just enjoyed it. When I was 13 I was spotted playing and met
Riccardo Piatti [the renowned Italian coach] and after that every day became serious practice.
‘I still went to school in my home town and would go down to his academy and back up again. I was studying a bit less than normal kids and I am still studying actually, or at least trying to.’
He barely played in junior events, opting for lower-ranked professional tournaments.
After two Challenger title wins this year, Antwerp and qualifying for the US Open, Sinner is making a vertiginous ascent of the rankings. This to the extent that he has been the subject of a ferocious scrap among the game’s leading agents for his signature, opting for
London-based Starwing Sports. All this is not really an outcome you would expect for someone who grew up idolising skiers. ‘Alberto Tomba was one of my heroes but I preferred Bode Miller, because I loved his style,’ he says.
Djokovic has spoken of how his childhood passion for skiing facilitated his remarkable balance on the court and his ability to slide.
Sinner, 6ft 2in, has the makings of a similarly rounded game and when you see him hit his groundstrokes it can bring to mind an accomplished skier leaning into a turn.
‘They are very different sports but balance is important so I can understand why Novak said it is helping his tennis,’ adds Sinner.
‘Something else is that if you think a bit less in tennis that is a help, and when you are racing it is better you don’t think so much either and just do it naturally.’
Sinner has a pleasing natural manner and, unlike some of his hot-housed peers, his parents have been fairly hands off.
He is to move to Monte Carlo soon in line with many in his profession, but will always call the Tyrol home. ‘It’s beautiful there, you wake up every morning and you have the mountains, it’s paradise for me. I’m travelling a lot and when I go home it’s perfect to relax. I’m still allowed to ski but I go carefully. At Christmas I always ski but I go slowly and my friends are always telling me to go faster. I could easily do that but I think they are starting to understand now.’
AN ABDOMINAL injury forced Rafael Nadal to pull out of his Paris Masters semi-final against Denis Shapovalov. The Canadian will face Djokovic in today’s final.