WATCH: Jannik Sinner and his father Hanspeter enjoy fun football session at Indian Wells practice
Late in the first set of his match on Tuesday night, Jannik Sinner was given a time-violation warning by chair umpire Mo Lahyani. Sinner had taken a few too many seconds inspecting a ball and throwing it back to the ball boy. When Layhani announced the warning, Sinner briefly shook his head in annoyance, asked for the ball back, and walked toward the chair.
“Is Sinner actually going to get mad?” the person watching the match with me asked. We both leaned forward to hear what would happen next. Neither of us could remember seeing the young Italian argue or show any signs of frustration with anyone.
And we wouldn’t see any more signs of it here, either. Instead of throwing a tantrum, Sinner handed Layhani the ball, which he thought was bouncing differently than the others. Then he said, “It’s all right,” referring to the time violation, and returned to the baseline. Situation defused. Calm quickly restored. On to to the next point. We’ll have to wait for another day—or decade—before we see any signs of rage from him.
Jannik Sinner is under the spotlight more than ever, but that hasn’t changed his ultra-calm—and ultra-effective—approach to the game.
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Sinner’s ultra-calm style is clearly working for him. After his brief chat with Layhani, he went on to beat Ben Shelton. The American was playing in front of a partisan crowd in Indian Wells, and every time he did anything right, the fans roared their approval and urged him on.
A different top-ranked opponent might have been annoyed by that. Daniil Medvedev might have thrown his arms up sarcastically, as if to say, “Now give ME some love.” Novak Djokovic might have smiled ruefully, shaken his head, and wondered why he had to be the bad guy again. Sinner didn’t show any sign that he heard anything at all. When Shelton broke him to level the first set at 5-5, and then held for 6-5, the audience went berserk. But Sinner quieted them again by holding for 6-6 and winning the tiebreaker.
Maybe Sinner took some heart from seeing all of the plush, orange-and green-topped carrot toys that dotted the stadium. Some fans held them up and danced with them on the big screen during changeovers; others covered themselves in carrot-colored suits. The vegetable is a reference to Sinner’s orangey hair, and the fact that he has eaten carrots on changeovers during matches. Over the past year, it has become the symbol of the Jannik Sinner superfan. It’s a club that’s growing quickly.
From Roland Garro
