Jannik Sinner: Making History And Breaking Records
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The world no. 1 has become the first Italian man in 50 years to win the Italian Open in Rome, completing a ‘career Golden Masters’.
Jannik Sinner is continuing to write his name into the record books at a pace rarely seen in the modern men’s game. By winning the Italian Open in front of an adoring home crowd on Sunday, 24-year-old Sinner completed the full set of nine ATP Masters 1000 titles - known as the ‘career Golden Masters’.
It is difficult to overstate the historic nature of this triumph, says The Guardian. Sinner is only the second man in history to win all nine ATP Masters 1000 titles. This feat, one of the most impressive in the sport, was first achieved by Novak Djokovic in 2018 at the age of 31. Sinner has completed his set at just 24 years old, still seemingly with so much more to achieve.
"With the level of competition, the physical and mental demands, changing surfaces, travelling the world, winning all these matches is incredible," Britain's former world number four Tim Henman said on Sky Sports.
Sinner has also extended his record for consecutive Masters 1000 wins by becoming the first man to win six consecutive titles in total and to win the first five in a season. He is also the only person other than Rafael Nadal in 2010 to win all three clay-court Masters 1000 titles in a year. On a more personal note, Sinner is the first Italian man to triumph in the Italian Open since Adriano Panatta in 1976.
“There’s no better place to complete this set,” said Sinner. “It has been a very, very interesting tournament already back in the years. 2019, making my debut here on this court. I always felt a lot of, like in a different way, a very positive but different way, a lot of attention, a lot of emotions going through. It means a lot. I believe for an Italian, it’s one of the most special places we play tennis. To win at least once in my career means a lot to me.”
After Rome, says the BBC, all roads now lead to Roland Garros - where Sinner can create even more history at the upcoming French Open.
According to a survey by Italy's leading sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport, children’s tennis club enrolments have skyrocketed thanks to Sinner's prodigious success. In 2001, the total number of tennis players registered in clubs was just 129,000; today, registrations have surpassed a million - and there is now a cohort of young, talented Italian players climbing towards the top of the game.
