Sinner: “Fifty years after Panatta, a special day. Now the objective is Paris"

“I won in one of the most special places, in front of many important people. I am happy with this achievement, in Rome I made my debut at 17 years old against Steve Johnson (his first victory in a Master 1000, ed.) aiming above all not to make a bad impression”. The new king of Rome Jannik Sinner, welcomed by applause, arrives in the press room with the trophy that Adriano Panatta gave him after 50 years, won when father Hanspeter Sinner was only 12 years old and mother Siglinde 10, and puts together emotions, sensations and future plans. “What I have achieved this year is incredible but my goal remains Paris.”

Rest, preparation and goal of Paris

“Now I’ll rest for two or three days, that’s right, but then it’s important to get in shape for Paris.” By fit he means above all physical fitness “because physically you have to feel good otherwise you won’t go anywhere, everyone knows how to play tennis well now” and it is precisely for this reason, he underlines, that at the end of his match with Ruud during the awards ceremony he thanked his athletic trainers.

Happiness according to Jannik

However, this invincible boy’s concept of happiness is linked precisely to rest: “now my happiness will last three days, and in any case it is not linked to winning or losing otherwise I would put too much pressure on myself, I consider myself a balanced person, small things give me serenity, a bit of golf, a go-kart ride”.

The final with Ruud: difficulty, pressure and management

He knew that today’s final against Casper Ruud won 6/4 – 6/4 would not be easy: “It was also difficult due to the time of day, with sun and shade on the pitch, the wind was changing – he analyzes – and then I felt the pressure beforehand, it’s normal, I knew what I was playing for”. He tried to remain as calm as possible: “After half an hour I served better, at the beginning I struggled to get into the match. It was definitely a good day, fifty years later I was Panatta, Bolelli and Vavassori, the first Italian couple in history to win the double in Rome”.

The night of rain and tension

On the night of the match interrupted by the rain he didn’t sleep a wink due to the tension, “I’ll definitely sleep better tonight”. It also depends on what I do” he jokes.