After powering past Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff in straight sets on Sunday, he was asked to describe his biggest talent, and didn’t hesitate.
“I have a lot of respect for all of the players, but I don’t have fear to face them,” he said. “I realized it when I skied that I had fear to go in the downhill races. When you go very fast and then you jump 20, 30 meters it’s different. Then I had this fear. And then in my mind, tennis, it’s nothing to be scared about, no?”
Now that he has been to the Grand Slam summit, Sinner’s self-confidence is snowballing. He’s been the best player on the ATP Tour this season and it doesn’t feel like his level is unsustainable.
“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,” he said. “I know that I can do it – it’s different – but even three years ago the mindset was not like this.”
“Now achieving [a Grand Slam title], 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.”
Rather than rest on his laurels, Sinner, who is coached by Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi, is intent on discovering – and testing – his limits. He believes that his potential is far from tapped at this nascent point of his career.
“I think tennis is a good sport because you can always set new goals,” he said. “It doesn’t really matter what kind of title you win, the next week is a good week and a good opportunity to do something great again – this kind of motivation keeps pushing me.”
“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.”
