Italian Long Jumper Convinced Jannik Sinner Will ‘Definitely Return’ to No.1 Ranking

World No.2 Jannik Sinner will be participating in two more ATP 500 tournaments.

Italian Long Jumper Convinced Jannik Sinner Will ‘Definitely Return’ to No.1 Ranking

Jannik Sinner (Image via X/The Tennis Podcast)

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Italian long jumper Mattia Furlani clinched the bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, while this year, he claimed gold in the ongoing World Athletics Championships. Prior to his victory, Furlani said compatriot Jannik Sinner has inspired him a lot with his determination and passion.

Sinner is not in action, as his first tournament since his US Open final defeat to Carlos Alcaraz is the China Open, scheduled to kick off on September 24. As he failed to defend at Flushing Meadows, Alcaraz reclaimed his No.1 ranking for the first time since September 2023. Furlani, during an interview with Rai Sport, said he is convinced the four-time Grand Slam champion will once again stand on top of the rankings table.

Jannik Sinner as a role model? He and I are achieving sporting feats that don’t happen every day: Jannik is a champion, he was number one in the world, but he will definitely return to being so. We must enjoy what we’re doing, and we must be grateful to be able to witness these results in an era like this: he is a great, and we must carry our names high, in the same way.

Sinner couldn’t defend the five titles he won last year, and this affected his ranking. Although he defended his Australian Open by breezing past Alexander Zverev, he chose not to defend the Rotterdam Open, and his doping suspension stopped him from playing the Miami Open.

Sinner’s Halle Open campaign ended when he lost to eventual winner Alexander Bublik in the second round, while at the Cincinnati Masters, he gave a walkover to Alcaraz because of an illness. The Spaniard did not have many points to defend on the North American hard court swing, as well as the Asian swing. After the China Open, Sinner’s goal would be to defend the Shanghai Masters he won last year by beating Novak Djokovic.

Jannik Sinner presents his foundation in Milan

In April this month, Jannik Sinner launched the Jannik Sinner Foundation in Milan to support children and make sports and education more accessible to the next generation. The 24-year-old recently officially presented his organization.

Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ)

Tennis has taught me many things and has changed my life. The foundation has always been very important to me. I wanted to start it much, much earlier, but we decided to do things properly and take more time. We hope to create something very nice that will last for a long time, and we will try to do many positive things. Without my career, none of this would have been possible.

Jannik Sinner said during the event

Sinner will feature in two more ATP 500 events this year. Apart from the China Open, he will play the Vienna Open, which he skipped last year and lifted in 2023 by beating 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev. In Beijing last year, Sinner failed to defend his title due to his three-set defeat to Carlos Alcaraz.

As per the new ATP rule, players have to play four ATP 500 tournaments every year, including one after the US Open. Sinner has so far featured in just one event in this category (Halle Open).

So far this season, the Italian has reached six finals, claiming two titles, though both of them were Grand Slam ones. There are two more titles that he will aim to defend this year- the Shanghai Masters and the ATP Finals (beat Taylor Fritz last year).

Sinner is not part of Team Europe for the Laver Cup, which will get underway on September 19. He has never made his debut in the team tournament founded by Roger Federer, but he is expected to feature at the Davis Cup Finals with Italy.

Also read: Alexander Zverev Eager to Take the Responsibility of Leading Team Europe to Success at the Laver Cup