By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Friday, March 8, 2024
A streaking Jannik Sinner soared through nine straight games sweeping Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-3, 6-0, in a strong Indian Wells opener.
Photo credit: Andy Cheung/Getty
Polite power erupts when Jannik Sinner comes to court.
An unassuming Jannik Sinner continues dispensing overwhelming tennis indoors and outdoors.
Djokovic: Let's See How Far We Push the Needle
Australian Open Sinner streaked through nine straight games crushing Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-3, 6-0 in the BNP Paribas Open second round.
Sinner scored his 16th consecutive victory—he’s 33-2 since Wimbledon—raising his season record to 13-0.
The explosive Sinner is the fourth man under age 23 to start a season 13-0 joining Hall of Famers Jimmy Connors, Stefan Edberg and Lleyton Hewitt achieving that feat.
“For sure I felt like it was a little bit breezy today,” Sinner told Jill Craybas afterward. “So it was tough to play, especially in the beginning. For me, it was the first match here.
“I think I can be very happy. I mean he is a great opponent, a great player and he serves really, really big. In the beginning you always try to have some feeling with the court, with the ball, in the end I felt much better.
It’s been a rocket ride start to the season for the red-haired Italian, who shredded Novak Djokovic 6-1, 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-3 dethroning the defending AO champion to charge into his maiden major final at the Australian Open.
"I don't think I played my best tennis in Australia, whereas Jannik did," Djokovic told the media in Indian Wells. "He was just a far better player than me that day. After that, he made an incredible comeback in the finals and won his first [major] title so it was absolutely deserved."
Snapping Djokovic’s 33-match AO winning streak without facing a single break point, Sinner went from streak snapper to heart-breaker rallying from two-sets down to defeat Daniil Medvedev and capture his maiden major at the Australian Open.
Reflecting on that magic moment in Melbourne, Sinner calls it “something incredible” and says its infused him with something invaluable: the self-belief he can win majors.
“Of course there are, throughout the career, some moments when you realize that you can become a good tennis player, but to be in a position where I am right now, obviously now I have a different mindset, I know that I can do it – it’s different – but even three years ago the mindset was not like this,” Sinner told the media in Indian Wells. “Now achieving it, I know that I can play some good tennis and I can compete against the best players in the world, and I think that for me, at the moment, is the most important thing.”
The mild-mannered Sinner is so courteous, he often picks up the coin and hands it back to the chair umpire after the coin toss.
If Sinner was a boxer, he’d be the kind of fighter who would help an opponent up after knocking him down.
Don’t let the polite demeanor fool you: Sinner is a baseline assassin whose placid personality belies the killer instinct he brings on court.
Today, Sinner smacked 21 winners against 7 unforced errors and showed the all-court versatility he’s working to apply to his game.
In addition to blasting drives down the line, Sinner showed a fine serve-and-volley as well as more subtle spin changes.
“I think you always can set goal after goal and when you reach one goal try to work hard for the next goal,” Sinner said. “So I feel like I still have to prove many things.
“Starting on court, the serve I have to improve, then trying to mix up the game. We worked before coming here a lot in the gym also because I need to grow. These are the kind of things that push me to do better and hopefully I can show this also on the court.”
The 22-year-old Italian brings his best against the best: Sinner is 10-1 vs. Top 5 opponents in his last 11 matches and has captured four titles in his last seven tournament starts.
Leading Italy to the Davis Cup championship has made Sinner a national hero back home and he takes pride playing a part in the Italian tennis renaissance.
“It started years ago, starting from the women’s side, with Schiavone and Pennetta, then after, Matteo making a final of a Grand Slam, Fognini, he won the Masters event in Monaco,” Sinner said. “We have so many great players and for me it’s good and fun to be part of this group who tries to push the other players and to give them also a different aspect of how to see things, sometimes it’s also really important.
“I just feel really lucky to be in this position and hope I can help them in one way, but on the other side everyone goes his own way, everyone has his own team behind them, so I always was looking for myself, what’s working best for me. I think it’s more important to put more young people into Italian tennis, I think that’s more important, when you reach a good level of tennis, there are different views.”
A streaking Sinner will try to ride the winning wave in round three when he faces either Borna Coric or 25th-seeded Jan-Lennard Struff.
The man with the swoosh on his baseball cap says staying humble and hungry is key to growing his game.
“It’s really important [not to get a big head],” Sinner said. “I always believe that I still have so many things to improve. For me that is the journey, to try to get 100 percent out of everything.
“And I know that physically I can improve, on the court I can improve, and also mentally. It’s going to be actually the good and funny thing of what I can do. The success we will see in the future if something positive is happening or not – nobody can tell the future so let’s see what’s coming.”