Everyone wants him and he, even more than on the pitch, must be good at managing this pressure. The burdens and honors of the world’s No.1 in tennis, Jannik Sinner. The South Tyrolean is preparing to the best of his ability for theWimbledon tournament debut. The third Slam of 2024 sees him among the favorites for the final victory and yesterday’s draw, from this point of view, was not so favorable to him.
Potentially treacherous crossings for the 22-year-old from Pustertal in the first week, which will immediately put him to the test. Jannik, for his part, showed up with the affirmation in the ATP500 of Hallewhere he conquered the first title on grass in the top international circuit. An ideal way to have more certainties in your tennis.
In addition to the qualities of the tennis player, there are also those of the boy. Sinner spoke about this in particular in the interview with the well-known French newspaper The team. “I hope people see me not only through my sporting successes, but also through what I convey as a person.“, declared the South Tyrolean. On his meteoric rise in popularity, the position is very clear: “If people like the way I am, good. Otherwise, it’s fine too. Obviously it’s different if people in my environment tell me that this or that is not good. But I will not change for strangers who criticize me.“.
These considerations are followed by those on social media: “They don’t represent real life. Tomorrow I can post a photo of myself with a big smile, but the moment I post it I feel bad, only this detail escapes those who look at the post. All others will think is that I’m always happy, which is obviously wrong. Honestly, I prefer to live without social media. I don’t need to read what people write about me, I don’t think about them and I love my life without them, as I live it right now“.
Coming to tennis matters, Sinner expressed an important concept linked to the mental component and serenity in managing the various moments of a match: “It is essential to appear calm on the court. We play a lot during the year and we must not waste energy. When you play 50 or 60 games in a season and the smallest detail bothers you, it will be difficult to stay 100% focused for the next day. When I started to know myself, how my head works, I felt better on the court. There are moments of anger but you cannot forget one thing: on the other side of the court there is an opponent who is watching you. If you give him information, it can help him raise his level. Poker face, undaunted even when things are not going well. This does not exclude the fact of being able to shout after a long exchange, involving the crowd“.
And then a curiosity about choosing the racket to use: “When I try them, I focus on the sound of the ball at the moment of the hit. If I have a good connection with the sound, then it is the right racket. In training, I try to play shots that often reproduce the right sound. For me, everything starts with the sound: it has to be clean, heavy, not ‘rough’. In training, my goal is to have the right feel and if there is the right sound, then the feel will also be right”.
