By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Thursday, October 10, 2024
Photo credit: Tim Clayton/Corbis/Getty
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner regards Rafael Nadal as more than a legendary champion.
Sinner sees Nadal, who announced he will retire at age 38 after next month's Davis Cup Final 8, as a humble warrior, a tennis teacher, who mentored many young players and as a role model and gift who keeps on giving to the game.
More: Rafael Nadal Announces Retirement from Tennis
"Well, it's tough news for, I think, all the tennis world, and not only tennis world," Sinner told the media in Shanghai after his 6-1, 6-4 Rolex Shanghai Masters win over Daniil Medvedev today. "What I can say, I was very lucky to get to know him also, like, you know, person's-wise, and he's an unbelievable person.
"Of course, the player, we all saw how good he has been as a player, and, you know, the lessons he taught us, you know, the young players, how to behave on the court, how to handle situations on the court, tough situations.
"Yeah, he gave to all of us a lot of emotions when we saw him playing. And also to stay humble, you know, in the same time, not changing with the success, choosing the right people around him, having a great family."
In October of 2020, Nadal stormed back from a break down in the opening set to stop Sinner 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-1 in a Roland Garros quarterfinal that ended after midnight in Paris. Since then, the pair have practiced several times with Sinner serving as Nadal's practice partner in Perth prior to the 2021 Australian Open.
The king of clay predicted the young Sinner would grow into a champion fighting for Grand Slams and the world No. 1 ranking and that prediction proved prophetic.
Sinner said Nadal and fellow Big 3 champions Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer set a standard that will not be matched.
"I mean, what they have done in the last years has been amazing," Sinner said of the Big 3. "There are not so many things to say about pressure, the pressure is always going to be there. But, you know, talking from my side, I think about myself, what I have to do on the court, what I have to improve, and that hopefully makes it better as a player, you know, and also a consistent player. They have been very consistent throughout the years and years and years...
"So, it's amazing what they have achieved, what they have done. There are a lot of things what we can take from them. We cannot compare us with them, you know, that's impossible, especially in this moment now. I think we all were very lucky to see the Big 3, you know, playing tennis.
"And I consider myself very lucky to get to know them also as person and, you know, to learning from them, and, yeah, I think that's it."