Jannik Sinner Reacts to Joining Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in Special List

Jannik Sinner lifted his career's first grass-court title at the Halle Open last year by beating Hubert Hurkacz.

Jannik Sinner Reacts to Joining Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in Special List

Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/We Are Tennis, Danny, Jannik Sinner HQ)

Jannik Sinner is in Halle, preparing for his first ATP 500 tournament on grass. Last year, he lifted the title by beating Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets, winning his career’s first grass-court title. It was the first tournament he played as the World No.1, and will now return to the tournament still as a top-ranked player. Sinner has now held the No.1 ranking for 53 weeks.

He has become just the fifth player on men’s tour to remain as a World No.1 player for a full year in their debut stint. Before him, Roger Federer, Jimmy Connors, Lleyton Hewitt, and Novak Djokovic achieved this feat.

It’s a huge honor for me to be part of these names. But in the other way, I’m myself. I make my history for myself. It’s, of course, amazing company I have or that I am part of. As I said, in Paris, I would never thought that I would be in this position once in my life. It’s amazing. Now I am there, now I know my potential.

Jannik Sinner said at the press conference at the Halle Open

Of these aforementioned players reaching the milestone before Sinner, only Djokovic is an active player. It was the Serb whom the three-time Grand Slam champion eliminated in the recently concluded French Open semifinal before losing the final to Carlos Alcaraz after failing to convert three championship points in the fourth set.

The match lasted for five hours and 29 minutes and is now the longest French Open final in the history of tennis. Djokovic has not signed up for any warm-up tournaments and will directly play at Wimbledon. Alcaraz is chasing his fourth grass-court title at the Queen’s Club Championships.

The five-time Grand Slam champion will enter Wimbledon as the two-time defending champion. In the previous two seasons, he beat Djokovic in the finals. The 24-time Grand Slam champion, who hasn’t yet tasted success in Majors since the 2023 US Open, last lifted the grass-court Major in 2022 by beating Nick Kyrgios.

At Wimbledon, Sinner is a semifinalist (reached in 2023). Last year, he was defeated in the quarterfinals by Daniil Medvedev after a five-set battle. In 2023, he was defeated in the last four by Djokovic in straight sets.

Jannik Sinner explains why he loves playing at the Halle Open

Jannik Sinner loves playing at the Halle Open for a simple reason. It’s held in a quiet town away from the hustle and bustle of the cities, where most of the other European tennis events are held.

Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner (Image via X/The Tennis Podcast)

There’s simply less stress around here. You sleep at the tournament site and have very short distances. You can take a breather between the hectic pace of this part of the season when two Grand Slams take place. You have to organize your day differently here because you don’t waste too much unnecessary time on long shuttles from the hotel to the tournament, for example.

Jannik Sinner said at the press conference

Sinner has reached every final of the three tournaments he played this season. He defended his Australian Open title by breezing past Alexander Zverev. After serving his three-month doping ban, Sinner made his comeback at the Italian Open, only to reach the final and lose to Carlos Alcaraz.

The Spaniard has now won five consecutive matches against the 23-year-old and is 8-4 in their head-to-head meetings. Alcaraz could meet him at Wimbledon if they both reach the final. Sinner and Alcaraz will be the first and second seed, respectively. World No.3 Zverev won’t be able to remove the 22-year-old from the second spot because Alcaraz has more than 2,300 points than him on the live rankings.

Also read: Alexander Zverev Aims to Reach Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz’s Level by Pushing to the Limits