(Toronto) Jannik Sinner has waited a long time. More than two years, to be precise. This period may seem relatively short on the scale of a human life. But for a 21-year-old who started his career just five years ago, that’s an eternity. The wait is over. The Italian finally won his first Masters 1000 title.
When Alex de Minaur sent his last forehand into the net, Jannik Sinner was finally freed. The crowd stood up, but he leaned over. On his baseline, he put his left hand on his knee. With his other hand, he was pounding the ground with the top of his racquet frame. Probably because he didn’t believe it. Or maybe he was picking for each time he came close and ended up failing.
By winning the National Bank Open in Toronto on Sunday, in two sets of 6-4 and 6-1, he had also just obtained his first title in the most prestigious tournament category after those of the Grand Slam.
“I started to think that I had the necessary level from last year, admitted the champion with his bronze trophy, just in front of him, in a press conference after the match. I now know that I can go a little further in tournaments, especially this year by making semi-finals and finals. I knew I was going to be able to win a title one day. »
Hubert Hurkacz and Daniil Medvedev had beaten him in the final of the Miami Masters in 2021 and 2023. Out of the question, this time, to miss his chance.
“Every final is different. When you play for such an important trophy and you get a bit used to it, you manage to better control your emotions before and during the match. I think in all aspects I did better than in the previous two finals. »
The day before, Sinner had admitted that he did not like to speak publicly about his game plan. Like most players, by the way. Once in the field, we understood why.
Without completely distorting himself, the Italian adjusted and transformed several elements in his game, especially for this final.
Sinner and de Minaur are two players who have made their reputation thanks to their consistency from the bottom of the field. They hammered their respective opponents all week by flipping everything and catapulting consistently well-placed missiles.
De Minaur, in particular, was talked about in Toronto because of his fighting spirit. If a ball was in play, the Aussie was there to return it.
Sinner knew very well who he was dealing with. He came up to the net more, winning all of his points upfield. But above all he went looking for spectacularly effective angles of attack. With his serving patterns or even with his ability to accentuate the rhythm of each exchange, de Minaur may excel, he still cannot add inches to his racquet on each quickdraw.
“Sometimes you have to change things up a bit and today was kind of the solution. I also wanted to do some serve and volleys, but I wasn’t serving very well. And there are still things to improve in certain specific situations, “said the tall redhead.
Sinner finished the match with 14 winners, but also with 16 unforced errors. It was his bet. Attacking and assaulting his opponent. He went all out.
Like de Minaur, it should be emphasized. In fact, by the nature of his game, the 18th-ranked player in the world is even less offensively inclined than Sinner. Nevertheless, from the first point of the game, the Australian went to the net. His strategy, and especially his message, was clear and even somewhat surprising. He returned there seven times during the game. Even in a break point situation. Losing the point half the time.
“Jannik is a hell of a player,” de Minaur said. He has one of the heaviest shots I’ve seen from the baseline. I think he was able to execute his game plan a little better than me. »
De Minaur nevertheless aspires to move up the ladder. It was his first Masters 1000 final, and the 24-year-old will claim No. 12 in the world on Monday. A career high. “And I still have a lot of things to improve. So the sequel is pretty exciting. »
It’s through weeks like this, and games like that, that he can truly aspire to break into the top 10.
De Minaur has been a very pleasant business all week. He even surprised members of the Quebec media by agreeing to answer a few questions in French. For the Aussie, rankings are just a statistic. He wants first and foremost to be proud of himself. He wants to feel the joy invading him thanks to this week as often as possible before thinking about a ranking.
“A lot of people don’t realize how difficult it is to be in the position I’m in and the work it takes. […] I want to be happy, when I am retired, sitting on my couch, and I look back on my career and tell myself that I have achieved great things thanks to my hard work and my determination. »
Last week, La Presse had met Sinner, in an interview on the sidelines of the tournament. During this meeting, the eighth player in the world had targeted the fact of remaining himself as being his priority in all the hubbub that had become the circus of the ATP circuit.
He said he was still unhappy with his rankings, even though he thought he had improved over the past year.
Thanks to this win in Canada, he will be sixth in the ATP rankings.
This triumph will allow him to arrive with panache in the next tournaments. Especially at the United States Open, in a few weeks. Even if he already had seven titles on the circuit, this significant victory confirms to him that he is capable of being fair and solid in the big moments.
“It gives me a lot of confidence. But I can’t wait to see how it turns out. But like my confidence, my expectations will be a bit higher from now on. »
Sinner is an ordinary champion turned extraordinary after seven days in Ontario. Who has remained the same despite the glory and who intends to continue like this because it suits him rather well.
He loves to ski and comes from a small village in northern Italy. He is still embarrassed in front of the cameras and he sometimes struggles to understand how he could find himself on the biggest stage in the world.
At the end of the scrum, after receiving a Toronto Blue Jays uniform in his name, Sinner grabbed his cell phone to read and respond to his text messages, as any youngster would. 21-year-old man following the greatest achievement of his life.
