Jannik Sinner never stops: he won the ATP 500 in Rotterdam against the Australian De Minaur. The blue won 7-5, 6-4. In the first set he had already had 4 set points at 5-4 and serve before having serve broken. But it wasn’t a problem because immediately afterwards Sinner scored the two games that gave him the set. In the second set, a decisive break in the seventh game and then a sprint to 6-4. Sinner thus wins the 12th title of his young career and already tomorrow, when the ATP ranking is updated, he will be number 3 in the world, without waiting for Medvedev’s points to expire in Doha, on 26 February. Jannik remains undefeated since the ATP Finals in Turin, collecting victory number 202 in his career and the 15th in a row.
“Meanwhile, congratulations to Alex De Minaur: playing against you is always difficult. I thank my staff: we have had difficult moments this week but we always move in the right way and always try to improve. This is a beautiful tournament.” Jannik Sinner said this after winning the Rotterdam tournament, in the final against the Australian. In 2023 the Italian had surrendered in this event in the last act, against Daniil Medvedev. “Congratulations to Sinner and his team: you deserve the success you are having. I thank my staff and my family. Another step in the right direction in my career, let’s hope that Jannik intends to lose a match sooner or later in 2024”, said Alex De Minaur, who was also defeated by the Italian in the 1000 final in Toronto last year.
Sinner’s season dreaming of the number 1 of the ATP
The tennis season now enters a new phase. Jannik Sinner planned it for the first time with the attitude of someone who aims to become number 1 in the world and not simply to let their star shine. The pivot of his season as befits a super top player will be the remaining three Slam tournaments. In Paris last year he went out in the second round at the end of a strange match against the German Altmaier; at Wimbledon he reached the semi-final, then lost against Djokovic and in New York he was defeated by Zverev in the quarterfinals in the fifth place after a somewhat dramatic match. It is not far from the truth if one predicts that the clay court season will represent something particularly important for Jannik this year. If only because before Paris the Italian Internationals will be staged where an Italian hasn’t won since 1976 (Panatta) and where Jannik will be awaited with incredible pathos. But before arriving at the clay season Jannik is expected by the American “sunshine double” which will represent another key step in his season. Novak Djokovic will also be there at Indian Wells and Miami (leader of the world rankings for 412 weeks) who will not have points to defend given that last year (due to his no-vax status) he did not play. Sinner, on the other hand, will have to defend the 360 points of the Indian Wells semi-final lost against Alcaraz and the 600 of the Miami final lost against Medvedev. The two American tournaments will therefore shape the new state of world balance. Without forgetting that Carlos Alcaraz is busy these days on South American soil: an element that could lead us to think that on the European one he will start one step ahead of the others. But who knows if it will be true.