Last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals champion Jannik Sinner is training very hard in Bordighera and Monte-Carlo under the guidance of his coach Riccardo Piatti ahead of two exhibition tournaments in Berlin on hard-court and in Stuttgart on grass. Sinner will then travel to the United States to play three tournaments in Washington, Cincinnati (which will be held in New York) and the US Open.
“Jannik lives for his sport. It is not a burden for him. He has always trained even during the lockdown. His dedication is crucial to become a great star in the future, but has still a lot of work to do. He is the strongest young player I have ever trained”, said Riccardo Piatti to Italian Sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Sinner has reached the world number 73 position in the ATP Ranking becoming the youngest top 80 player since Rafael Nadal in 2003. Piatti wants to offer Sinner a chance to train with the biggest players on the circuit, like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
“We are not looking only for congratulations for Jannik. We are of course very pleased with them, but my main goal is to contribute to his growth by giving him the chance to train with Federer and Nadal. They are blessed with talent, but they also have a mental approach, that is completely different from other players. I want Jannik to learn from these big stars. Before the re-start of the season Sinner trained with Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexei Popyrin, two young players that Sinner will meet often in the future. He also trained with Alexander Zverev and Stan Wawrinka in Monte-Carlo. As there are no tournaments, we try to simulate matches in training. Jannik is always learning something new and continues improving. Until three years ago Sinner played tennis three times a week. He has learnt a lot, but he has a lot of work to do. I want Sinner to learn how big stars deal with the most crucial moments of the match. Only by training with them Sinner will have the chance to continue improving”, said Piatti.
Sinner trained with Nadal last January during the Australian Open.
“I have already talked with Carlos Moya and we will arrange other opportunities in the future. I want Sinner to have the chance to learn how Rafa faces the problems on the court”.
Piatti is in touch with John McEnroe, who could provide advice to the young Italian star during the US hard-court season.
“When we will be in the United States, we will meet John. He is a very clever person. Meeting him will give Jannik a chance to improve. Meeting him will be very useful for Jannik’s personality. He will give important advice not only for his tennis career, but also for life”, concluded Piatti.