NEW YORK. “Winning when you are the favorite is different. Compared to the Australian Open, this is a completely different Slam: the first one is a relief and this one, after coming from a situation like that, was more about mental strength, I also showed it in the semifinal against Jack Draper. Pressure is a nice thing to feel, and I feel lucky to have it”. This was said by Jannik Sinner, interviewed by ‘SuperTennis’ after his triumph in the final at the US Open over Taylor Fritz.
“After having spent some tough and tough months, this trophy means a lot – the world number 1 underlined – There are all the people around me who know me as a person and I am happy with how I reacted. My team who knows me better than my parents: all this means a lot to me, after all we know that I can still improve, as we saw today in the final: in the service and in some choices, but these are details that make you a better player. And we always try to improve ourselves”.
But how did Sinner win this final? “I think I won the final by starting aggressively – he explained -, making him understand immediately that as soon as he left me a short ball I was there. Then I changed a little bit from a tactical point of view, in the second set I understood that he was raising the bar a bit especially in the service and also in the third I was down 5-4. But then I started again. There were some points in which the match changed, and he had them too when he had the chance to go 4-2 and hit the line. But it was a final, it’s difficult to play and I’m happy to have won it”.
But for Jannik this was a victory that goes beyond tennis: “I want to thank the public for their support in difficult times.: It’s easy to be there when things are going well. I want to share it with all the fans. I’m happy with how honest the crowd was in Ashe”. And he, Sinner, in this period, confesses to have “learned that outside of tennis there is a life“. “I work really hard to lift these cups and play on the biggest fields in the world – he added – but outside there is another life, it is important to surround yourself with people who know you but above all who accept you as you are as a person. We athletes cannot change because otherwise we lose our balance and this is also true in life in general, it is important to surround yourself with people who love you for who you are, this is my message, especially in difficult times, to be with those who love you even if they are two or three”.
2024-09-09 18:30:33