Jannik Sinner has become not just an exceptional tennis player, but also one of the most popular sportspersons in the world at the age of 22. Sinner’s rise has been gigantic enough that his Monte Carlo Masters 2024 semi-final match against Stefanos Tsitsipas bagged more television viewership in Italy than any Serie A game that took place on the weekend of 13th and 14th April 2024.
The 160-minute-long contest witnessed both Sinner and Tsitsipas playing high-quality tennis. But Tsitsipas put his experience to good use as he managed to trump the World No.2 – 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
During the contest, per Sportface.it, a total of 1,087,000 viewers – 940,000 on Sky Sports & 147,000 on Sky Go – tuned in to watch the battle between two of the most exciting players on the ATP Tour. The Sinner-Tsitsipas gathered more eyeballs than any of the three Serie A soccer matches on the same weekend. The only matches that came close to getting more views were the Turin vs Juventus (945,000) and Inter Milan vs Cagliari (952,000) encounters.
Back in November 2023, Jannik Sinner was the reason why tennis got back its popularity in Italy as his final match against Novak Djokovic in the ATP Finals in Turin, became the most-watched ever in the sport across the country. The match garnered more than 6 million views on Sky Italy and RAI 1 combined.
But with Sinner consistently improving on clay, it won’t be surprising to see the viewership for his matches increase in the coming tournaments. It is fair to say that at present, Jannik Sinner can be called the ‘King of Italian sports’.
Despite wanting to win the French Open 2024, Jannik Sinner opted out of Barcelona Open 2024
Jannik Sinner’s performance on clay subpar as per his standards. During the 2023 season, the Italian merely participated in 12 matches on the red dirt, winning just 8 of them. After winning the Miami Open 2024, the 22-year-old spoke about his goal of improving on clay courts and even winning the French Open 2024.
For Sinner to overcome the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, and Alexander Zverev and lift the French Open 2024 title, he will have to participate in as many tournaments as possible. However, following his exit in the semifinals of the Monte Carlo Masters 2024, the reigning Australian Open champion chose to skip the Barcelona Open 2024.
With merely 5 weeks remaining for the French Open 2024, it’ll be interesting to see what tournaments he eventually participates in, leading up to the Grand Slam.
