Record after record for a young man of only 21 years old, who is showing great qualities even in the most prestigious events of a season. After passing the first rounds at the 2023 Australian Open, Jannik Sinner has improved his numbers in terms of appearances in the round of 16 in Grand Slams.
In fact, the South Tyrolean is the youngest tennis player to have reached this stage eight times, after Novak Djokovic, who achieved this “feat” between 2006 and 2009. A continuous and still important performance by the South Tyrolean, who almost always manages not to be surprised in the first difficult games and reaches the most difficult matches against the best players on the circuit.
The Italian’s result can be compared to what the Big Three did at the same age as him: in this special classification, the talented 21-year-old has just equaled Swiss champion Roger Federer, who at 21 had participated in eight round of 16 of grand slams.
However, the man from San Cándido could soon overtake Roger, since he still has Roland Garros and Wimbledon to play before he reaches 22 years of age. The current number 16 in the world remains behind the Serbian and Rafael Nadal, who have played 10 and up to 11 round of 16 in Majors, respectively.
If Sinner confirms this incredible stat at the next two Slams, he would join Nole, but not the Spaniard, who is currently unreachable.
Federer is a true legend
Roger Federer believes it is important for even the greatest and most successful athletes to reinvent themselves.
“It’s always very interesting to see what the greatest athletes of all time ended up doing once they stopped,” Roger Federer said in a recently-released interview to CNBC, months before announcing his own retirement. In my case, I’ve tried to reinvent my trainings with my teams, where I train, when I train, how often I train, with whom I train, many many times to keep it interesting, because if you do it always in the same place, (it gets) too boring,” the 41-year-old revealed.
“So I needed to be exciting and this is where you have to challenge yourself.” Roger Federer’s retirement was one of the key moments of 2022. The news was on the air, since the Swiss Master had not set foot on the track for more than a year, but his announcement marked the end of an era.
The Swiss tried by all means to take one last lap of the carousel, but the condition of his right knee did not allow him to continue. The 41-year-old from Basel had attempted a timid comeback last year, playing only 13 official matches and stopping again after Wimbledon.
