“The only gift I gave myself was a car, but it’s not a Ferrari, Lamborghini or Maserati.”
Jannik Sinner He is a fashionable man in world tennis. Italian who rose to third place in the ATP rankingshaven’t lost a single match since the Masters Cup final against Novak Djokovicwhom he then defeated twice in the Davis Cup and the semi-finals of the Australian Open.
Last Sunday he continued his winning streak by taking part in a tournament in Rotterdam. but he had time to give a very personal interview to Vanity Fair Italia, where he talks about tennis, of course, but also shows his more human side.
My best friends have been since school, you can count them on the fingers of one hand. They don’t care how famous you are or how much you make.
“My best friends are those from school, you can count them on the fingers of one hand. They don’t care how famous I am or what I’ve won,” says Sinner, who always had to face criticism for speaking German as his native languagesomething normal for the Italian region where he grew up, South Tyrol.
“I always felt like an Italian, I’m very proud of it. At the age of 7 I competed in skiing with Italian children, at 14 in Liguria my classmates were Italian. We speak our own dialect of German, but even in Sicily they speak a dialect that we do not understand in other parts of Italy.“.
The transclimber makes a lot of money as a top tennis professional, but that doesn’t stop him from appreciating things: “Before I buy something, I always look at the price. If I go to a restaurant and pasta with meat sauce costs much more than pasta with tomato sauce, I order pasta with tomato sauce.. Not because I’m cheap, but because I respect money. The only gift I gave myself was a car. “It’s beautiful, but don’t think it’s a Ferrari, Lamborghini or Maserati.”
Before I buy something, I always look at the price. If I go to a restaurant and pasta with meat sauce costs much more than pasta with tomato sauce, I order pasta with tomato sauce. Not because I’m stingy, but because I respect money
Sinner admits in an interview that he is a private person: “If you mean personal life, then that’s true, I want to keep it that way. I want to protect the people closest to me, not to let them into this. I see it as a small task, almost like an obligation. They helped me gain self-confidence when I was young, and now I want to protect them in some way myself. People around me are similar to me, we understand each other at a glance.“.
“I’m always careful with what I say, or at least I try to. Answering something that is not entirely correct or truthful is like throwing yourself into the fire.. The answers are always the same because I am sincere and like to get straight to the point,” adds the Melbourne competition winner.
With feet on the ground
Despite his winning streak, Sinner does not want to monopolize everyone’s attention and takes the pressure off himself: “An opponent to beat is a big word. Of course, this is a good result, but I still need to continue to work and prepare for everything. At the moment, my opponents know me well, even my weak points.. I am one of the rivals that must be defeated. Zverev and Medvedev are playing very well. Carlos has already won two Grand Slams and is two years younger than me, and then there is Nole. Nole is Nole“.
Perfectionism is what elevated the Italian, as he himself admits in this interview: “On Sunday I played the final in Melbourne, the next day I flew to Italy, and in the morning I went straight to the gym.. I didn’t celebrate much, I didn’t drink, because it’s harmful to the body. We went to get something to eat and then I went back to the hotel. The feeling was very good, but I didn’t really think or realize what had happened. I watched a movie and fell asleep. I started thinking about this at 8 pm and immediately thought about how I could continue to improve. “I asked myself why I lost the first two sets, why I didn’t react earlier.”
I started thinking about winning in Australia at 20:00 and immediately started thinking about how I could continue to improve. I wondered why I lost the first two sets, why I didn’t react sooner.
Despite his great moment and the barrage of praise, the Italian believes he can improve and insists he still has weaknesses in his game: “I’m sure there are. I can still handle some difficult moments better, I’m still I still have a lot to learn.” from your mistakes. I’m playing well now, but more difficult moments will come. It is important now to work to meet them prepared. Sometimes we can become our own obstacle. In my life, I just want to control the things that stop me from doing my job, but I’m a regular guy who stays on track.“.
I’m playing well now, but there will be moments that will be a little more difficult. It is important to work now to meet them prepared.
And Sinner makes it very clear that dreams come from daily work: “I work very hard to achieve my goals and dreams. It’s nice to think that I’m creating my own story, and that I’m doing it for myself. If I look back, I know I’ve come a long way, but I don’t want to stop.. All the games you win, you don’t win them on the day they are played, they are won by preparing for months, maybe years, working on that match. I’m not afraid of failure, I don’t think about it“