South Tyrolean Jannik Sinner wins his first Grand Slam tournament in Australia. Italy has tennis fever – and sees its top talent as the future of the sport.
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The future of tennis? Jannik Sinner in Melbourne © Cameron Spencer/Getty Images
It wasn’t even eight months ago that there was only a small side room left for the great tennis talent: At the beginning of June, Jannik Sinner lost in round two of the French Open to the German clay court specialist Daniel Altmaier. And for losers, no matter how talented they may be, there is little space and time on the professional tour. Sinner had to explain to only a few media representatives why he did not live up to his own, but above all the Tifosi’s, demands that day. He did it in his own way: introverted, calm, almost stoic, always analyzing logically. If the young star continued to work like this, one suspected that the great successes would come.