Article translated from Italian by Tommaso Villa
Jannik Sinner’s win in Sofia will perhaps be remembered as the watershed moment that steered a middling national tennis movement towards its erstwhile 1970s glory – as a matter of fact, Italy now has four players in the men’s Top 40 for the first time since 1977. Sinner is the youngest Italian to ever win an ATP tournament at 19 years and 3 months, bagging the 68th title for his country in the Open Era.
The teenager admitted to feeling a bit of tension before the match, as well as when he thought to have it made when he got the break early in the second set after winning the opener – as icily driven as he might look, he is still a human being on the verge of breaking new ground for himself while setting a national record.
That moment of crisis, which already happened to him in Paris against Nadal and on other occasions, brought Pospisil back into the match, dragging the bout to a decider and causing him to drop his racquet, a rare showing of emotion.
It seemed like there was no way out of the funk when he had to face two break points in the first game of the third set. Moreover, it would have honestly been hard to forecast him as the champion in Bulgaria before the tie-breaker, since his opponent is a doubles champion (he won Wimbledon against the Bryans in five set in 2014, partnering Jack Sock) who not only does excel in the early shots of the rally (he has a big serve but his return isn’t inconsiderable either), but has also played hundreds of tie-breaks over the course of his career, and could thus rely on experience to quell his nerves – it should be remembered, however, that he had never won a singles title either.
What happened, instead, was an absolutely spotless performance by Sinner in the decisive game, which he won 7-3 without conceding a single mini-break. What’s more, he knew when to lunge, upping his aggression on the Canadian’s second serve while 3-2 up, hitting a few shattering forehands at 5-3, including an acutely-angled winner, and stepping in again on the next point when Pospisil’s first serve didn’t connect. Kudos.
He looked like a veteran out there, he was calm and lucid, and he found the shots that sometimes abandoned him throughout the week (the forehand especially) when he needed them most. This poise is one of the factors that lead me to believe that he will be one of the best.
However, it’s the blessings of so many champions, both past and present, that makes me believe that there is no fluke, and that his destiny is to reach new heights in a short time span. Pospisil didn’t just project him as a Top 10 player, he stated that he could go all the way to the rankings’ pinnacle. Yesterday, he played far from his best game, but this is a sign of surefire greatness, because he found a way to scratch his way to a win.
The pressure will certainly ease up in the next final, and the same goes for the third, the fourth, and so on. He will keep improving, a more important datum than precociousness records or discussions over his potential, a dangerous word that most of the time stays on paper.
According to the runner-up, this young man has everything that it takes – the serve, the groundstrokes, the brains, the brawns, the tactics. To these, I would add that he possesses the right personality, the drive, the focus, and the desire to improve. Sinner has already earned close to 2 million dollars in prize money, and even more in endorsements from six different international brands – Nike, Lavazza, Rolex, Parmigiano Reggiano, Alfa Romeo, Technogym – but I am sure that this isn’t what he’s in this for.
He also knows how to put things into perspective, like when he told me: “Right now, the most important thing is that my family and my friends are okay, I know that there are things that are more important than tennis. I could have been N.20 with a full season, but I’m at peace with that, I’ll think about it next year. What’s important right now is being healthy while perhaps hoping for an easier time when it comes to travelling in 2021. I take what I can get.”
Italy is a football-centric nation, but it has also borne witness to many affairs between the general public and athletes from individual sports – Valentino Rossi and the MotoGP, Federica Pellegrini and swimming, Alberto Tomba and skiing, Luna Rossa and yachting. Perhaps Jannik Sinner will be the one to turn tennis into a major sport in the country. Yesterday’s final was broadcast for free on national television, an almost unique occurrence – will it become a habit?
