On Monday, Jannik Sinner becomes the youngest Italian to break into the Top 10 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. Following his journey to the semi-finals of the Erste Bank Open, the 20-year-old ascended to World No. 9.
The five-time ATP Tour champion joins Adriano Panatta, Corrado Barazzutti, Fabio Fognini, and Matteo Berrettini as the fifth player from his country to reach the top group. With Casper Ruud approaching his 23rd birthday, Sinner is the youngest man in the Top 10 by more than two years.
It's not just that Sinner is in the Top 10 that's remarkable; it's how quickly he got there. As a junior, the San Candido native competed in skiing, but it wasn't until his early teens that he turned his attention to tennis. He didn't have a FedEx ATP Ranking four years ago. He is now near the top in the sport. Sinner, on the other hand, is not dazzled by his achievements. Not at all. The 20-year-old frequently mentions the "long path" that his career has taken. He's not thinking about his spectacular climb; he's thinking about the practice or match in front of him.
“For sure I don't want to rush so much,” Sinner said. “I'm just trying… to play match after match in the best possible way, and we’ll see. [I’m] trying to improve.”
Despite the fact that Sinner's rise was only a few years ago, he swiftly gained the respect of his colleagues and fans. The 2019 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion has consistently held his own and, in some situations, challenged the greatest in the sport. During that run, the Italian faced Alexander Bublik, who reached his first ATP Masters 1000 final this year in Miami. After that, the Kazakhstani inquired if he is human.
“He’s not [human]. That’s a fact,” Bublik said. “I asked him if he’s a human or not because for me, it’s very surprising that the guy at his age has this mental toughness that many, many other players don’t have. I called him a robot a couple of times during the match, but I do it in a very sincere way because he’s a really, really great player.”