Jannik Sinner was again in the limelight in Italy
Jannik Sinner was again in the limelight in Italy because of his choice to miss the Paris Olympics, where he would be one of the favorites to win the gold medal. The Italian had to give up the Olympic tournament a few days before the start of the event due to a tonsillitis, which worsened just before flying to Paris.
Italian fans did not take well his choice, accusing him of little attachment to the Italian flag since Jannik had also missed the Tokyo Olympics three years ago. Sinner is playing the best season of his career, having already won four titles (including the Australian Open earlier this year and the Miami Masters 1000 in the spring).
The world number 1 would have liked to get better results at the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships, but the body did not support him as he would have wished. Sinner did not show up to 100% of his form at the French Open due to a hip injury, surrendering to a great Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinal. A flu virus conditioned him at Wimbledon, where he was beaten in five sets by Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals.
The 2024 Australian Open champion will be one of the protagonists of the Masters 1000 American and US Open, which will take place in New York at the end of August. Sinner is expected to arrive in Montreal today, where he will defend the 1,000 points he won last year (when the tournament was played in Toronto).
Despite the criticism received in his country, Jannik Sinner has made a huge leap forward in the last 9-10 months. Everyone recognizes the strength of Jannik Sinner. The absence of the 22-year-old from San Candido at the Olympics in Paris 2024 was a hard blow for Italian fans, who dreamed of an historic medal at the Olympic event. Physical problems, less frequent than a few years ago, continue to afflict the number one in the world, who this year missed the Rome International for hip pain, He surrendered to Medvedev (and that sub-optimal state of health) at Wimbledon and now said goodbye to the Olympic dream for a tonsillitis.
Gasquet pays tribute to Sinner
The esteem and affection of his colleagues, however, continues to be felt. French champion Richard Gasquet, arrived in Italy last week to take part in the Challenger of Verona, spoke to the Corriere di Verona about the Italian ace, praising the main aspects of the game of the Australian Open 2024 champion.
“The impressive thing about Sinner is that he has everything. When you trade you are facing a great straight and a great backhand, so you have no break. He is the best technically,” explained the Frenchman, who added: “I think everything comes from the cleanliness of his technical gesture. Sinner knows how to use the body coming forward, bending his legs and hitting the ball well. To generate that power is the perfection in the movements” – Richard added.
In recent weeks, the Italian ace has also been heavily criticized for starting a love story with his colleague Anna Kalinskaya. In a recent interview with Tuttosport, former WTA star Svetlana Kuznetsova reflected on this topic: “It was obvious that Anna Kalinskaya would be blamed for Jannik Sinner’s inability to participate in the Olympic Games. Because it is obvious: the girlfriends of famous players are more in the spotlight. After his win at Wimbledon, Alcaraz went to Ibiza with friends drinking and having fun, Jannik was in Sardinia with his girlfriend in more calm conditions and got sick. The haters will blame her for any failures of the tennis player.
The Internet is already full of articles, in Italy they post photos of the couple with mocking captions: ‘This is Sinner’s tonsillitis’. I have also seen comments that Jannik withdrew from the Olympics in support of Anna: they say her country was oppressed at the Games and he is taking revenge for her. It is completely nonsense, of course.”
The Italian is ready for Montreal
World number 1 will have to defend a lot of points in the second part of 2024. After the forfait from the Paris Olympics, his main goal is to finish the year at the top of the ATP ranking. Last year, Sinner won the Toronto Masters 1000, the ATP 500 in Beijing, the ATP 500 in Vienna and reached the final at the ATP Finals in Turin.
The Italian will have to defend himself against the attack of Novak Djokovic and especially Carlos Alcaraz, who could miss the Canadian Open if he gets far at the Olympics in Paris.
