Jannik Sinner Reacts to Sprint Legend Usain Bolt Watching His Monte-Carlo Masters Match: “It Was Really Beautiful Moment”

Jannik Sinner will become the World No.1 if he wins the Monte-Carlo Masters.

Jannik Sinner Reacts to Sprint Legend Usain Bolt Watching His Monte-Carlo Masters Match: “It Was Really Beautiful Moment”

Usain Bolt (L) watched Jannik Sinner (R) win his opening-round match in Monte Carlo (Image via Olympics.com, X/4K JANNIK SINNER, jannik sinner files)

In Short
  • Jannik Sinner won his Monte-Carlo Masters opening match against Ugo Humbert with a score of 6-3, 6-0.
  • Usain Bolt attended the match and interacted with Sinner, expressing admiration for the tennis star.
  • Sinner aims to reclaim the No.1 ranking from Carlos Alcaraz, currently just 190 points behind.

Jannik Sinner started his campaign at the Monte-Carlo Masters with an emphatic 6-3, 6-0 win over Ugo Humbert on Tuesday (April 7). Watching him from the stands of Court Rainier III was the fastest man alive, Usain Bolt, who kept cheering for the four-time Grand Slam champion throughout the match.

Sinner did not waste much time in greeting the eight-time Olympic gold medalist after the match. “It is really nice to meet you. You are quite strong. It’s nice seeing you around tennis courts,” Sinner expressed his gratitude toward the world record holder in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay. Bolt replied with: “It’s a pleasure, thank you so much, you have a long way to go.”

Here’s the video of their interaction:

Later at the press conference, the World No.2 reacted to crossing paths with the eight-time Olympic gold medalist.

It’s always beautiful when other athletes watch our sport. He seems a really nice person, and he’s, of course, a sports legend. I already knew he was coming to see the match, and it was a really beautiful moment.

Jannik Sinner said

Sinner is now waiting for the second-round clash between Francisco Cerundolo and Tomas Machac. The win over Humbert has helped Sinner improve his head-to-head record over the Frenchman to 2-1.

Sinner, a two-time semifinalist in Monte Carlo, did not play the tournament last year because of his doping ban. This is the golden opportunity for the 24-year-old to reclaim his No.1 ranking position from arch-rival Carlos Alcaraz, who has 1,000 points to defend and has a lead of just 190 over Sinner.

The South Tyrol native is on a 13-match winning streak because before arriving in The Principality, Sinner became the eighth man to complete the Sunshine Double by defeating Daniil Medvedev in the Indian Wells Masters final and Jiri Lehecka in the Miami Open final.

Greg Rusedski backs Jannik Sinner to dethrone Carlos Alcaraz from the No.1 spot

Jannik Sinner was awarded 2,000 ranking points after his Sunshine Double wins because he had no points to defend. He did not have a great start to the season by his own standards, as he lost to eventual runner-up Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinal and to Jakub Mensik in the Qatar Open quarterfinals.

Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner
Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Carlos Alcaraz 4K, Jannik Sinner HQ)

In the two Masters 1000 events in the United States, Alcaraz was eliminated in the semifinal by Daniil Medvedev in Indian Wells and by Sebastian Korda in the Miami Open third round. The tough challenge for Alcaraz is to defend his 4,300 ranking points on the clay swing, and this is why former player Greg Rusedski has backed Sinner to reach the top of the rankings once again.

So it seems like there’s a battle of power there, but right now I am slightly favoring Sinner from what I am seeing, because of just his confidence, but you can never discount either one of those two guys.

Greg Rusedski said on his Off Court with Greg podcast

Rusedski, however, also believes that Alcaraz would not be worrying about points and instead would only be focusing on giving his all in every match that he plays.

That’s the ultimate goal. The greatest tennis match I’ve witnessed live is last year in the Roland Garros final, Sinner and Alcaraz. How many match points did Sinner have? And then the rebound back to win Wimbledon, incredible.

Greg Rusedski added

The seven-time Grand Slam champion dismantled Sebastian Baez in the opening round of the Monte-Carlo Masters. Last year on the clay swing, the 22-year-old won titles in Monte Carlo, Rome, and Paris, and also played the final of the Barcelona Open.

Also read: Alexander Bublik Reveals the Only Condition to Catch Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz