Exclusive: Why Overcoming Tough Moments Has Proven Key For Sinner

After Jannik Sinner won his opening match last week in Toronto against Matteo Berrettini, he was happy with more than just his performance in the match. The Italian was pleased with his form overall.

“My confidence level from last year has increased,” Sinner told ATPTour.com at the time. “I feel much better on the court, more comfortable.”

That became clear when the 21-year-old ended the week by lifting his first ATP Masters 1000 trophy. Sinner lost just one set en route to the biggest title of his career.

It was a week in which nearly everything went well. As top seeds Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev suffered quarter-final upsets, Sinner weathered a Gael Monfils storm in the last eight and did not find himself in trouble the rest of the week.

“When you go through tough moments throughout the whole week and you’re able to manage them in the best possible way,” Sinner said. “I think that’s the best feeling.”

Watch Toronto Final Highlights:

Sinner has been one of the best ball-strikers in the world since he first began his journey on the ATP Tour. Said Alex de Minaur, his opponent in the Toronto final: “He’s got some of the hardest groundstrokes I’ve probably ever dealt with, to be honest.”

Now in fourth place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, Sinner is in good position to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, where he competed as an alternate in 2021. But there have been tough moments this year for the former junior skiing sensation, too.

At Roland Garros, Sinner lost a gruelling five-hour, 26-minute clash to Daniel Altmaier in the second round. Having entered the tournament with high hopes, the upset was a stunner.

It was not that Sinner did not have the game to win the match that day. It was more about the mental side of his game.

“[I realised it] a little bit during the match, but during I didn’t have the strength to change it,” Sinner said. “After the match we talked, me and my team together, and I feel like we found a good solution, how to find the right way. And as I said, in Toronto, I think I had a very good attitude throughout the whole week and hopefully I can show this also here.”

To Sinner, his mentality is just as important if not more of a key than his strokes on court. Although that was a blip in the season, he attributes his overall confidence in work during the offseason with coaches Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi to execute both physically and mentally.

“We made a lot of good work during the offseason, which is for me very, very important,” Sinner said. “I felt like I was getting stronger also physically. Mentally I was ready to compete also when I was not feeling at 100 per cent. And I think that made me feel like I was ready to compete.”

Flying higher than ever, Sinner will try to capitalise on his momentum this week in Cincinnati and in the future.

“For sure you have to be happy because it’s a good achievement,” Sinner said. “But in the other way I also know that I can still improve my tennis and just look forward to the work. And so hopefully I can keep going, keep practising in the way we do and then we’ll see.”