edited by Andrea Quintavalle
Jannik Sinner is now the internationally renowned athlete who has conquered the Australian Open 2024.
The 22-year-old who captivated the entire country with his shy smile and good-boy ways. A polite and discreet tennis player, humble in spite of whatever victories and records may characterise his incredible climb to success. The figure of the classic sportsman who is said to have the heart of a champion.
But was it always like this?
Born on 16 August 2001, in Innichen (almost on the Austrian border), the young Jannik grew up in Sesto in a German-speaking familyby Hanspeter and Siglinde Sinnerchef and guest receptionist respectively at the Fondovalle hut in the Fischlein valley.
It would seem that during his childhood the athlete was a child of absolutely irrepressible vivacity. A cute red-haired brat, much less patient than we know him today, who was entrusted by his mother to a family friend, Andreas Schönegger, at the age of only three and a half, to tire him out and channel his unstoppable energy into sport. And so it was that Schönegger began to tutor little Jannik, introducing him to alpine skiing in winter and tennis in summer. From an early age Jannik showed considerable talent in both, but although the young athlete also showed promise on skis, it was at the age of 13 that he finally opted for tennis, mainly because of the length of ski training, which he felt was disproportionate to the actual alpine competitions.
Thus, Sinner makes an already very courageous and mature choice for his age, leaving his family for the Academy of Riccardo Piatti in Bordighera (also at the suggestion of coach Massimo Sartori), for longer and longer periods, until a definitive move. Today, Sinner says that this decision was also reached because of the greater possibility of recovery that tennis presents compared to skiing in disadvantageous situations, or as the athlete says: 'if in skiing you make a mistake, the race is lost, I chose tennis because there is always a margin to recover'.
Thus, already at a young age, the discipline and mental maturity that will characterise Sinner since pre-adolescence. An early awareness, which has enabled him to put this principle into practice in his game since his teenage years. It is through this mindset that Sinner never gives up and no opponent can really afford the luxury of considering him defeated until the handshake comes.
Today, the already historic comeback against Medvedev. That imperturbability for which he is known today is therefore Sinner's true achievement and the result of a years-long self-education process that began when he was a child.
The climb to success is thus inexorable: Sinner He made his debut on the professional circuit in September 2015, at the age of 14, while a year later he won his first professional match, defeating Croatian Leo Kovačić in two sets in the qualifiers of the Croatia Futures F4. Almost 18 years old, he entered the ATP world rankings for the first time on 12 February 2018, at position No. 1592, and then ended the season at position No. 551.
From there, it was a succession of victories until the victory in Melbourne. When it comes to his private life, relatively little is known about Sinner.
Since 2020, he has moved his legal and fiscal residence to the Principality of Monaco, follows a strict and healthy diet, loves sports cars and is an AC Milan fan.
He attended high school at the Walther technical institute in Bozen/Bolzano until the fourth year, only later graduating as a private accountant.
Among his tennis idols, Sinner mentioned compatriot Andreas Seppi, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
We also know that he loves the mountains and family, holding his older foster brother Mark, whom his parents had adopted before Jannik was born, in the highest esteem.
The same parents who went on with their lives keeping an eye on their prodigy son only from a distance: simple, reserved people, deserving of having never interfered in his preparation and letting him live his life, as confirmed by Andrea Spizzica, another of the 22-year-old's early trainers, in an interview with 'Rai Radio 1'.
Spizzica again stated that the victory at the Australian Open 2024 is above all the result of the work ethic of Jannik. Something earned through the sacrifices of training over the last six months, which has allowed the champion to achieve unprecedented coordination, perfecting the powerful stroke of the racket that now goes wonderfully well with the speed and agility provided by the slender physique.
But the Melbourne Trophy did not make it less humble Jannik Sinner. Today, when talking to him about the pressure and expectations that the new role as Italian champion may bring, Sinner confesses that on the court he can even feel it, but that the pressure of being a tennis player is ultimately just a great 'privilege' that he is grateful to experience throughout his career.
And it is perhaps also because of that same humility that the village loves the wonder boy from San Candido.
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