By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Thursday, October 10, 2024
Photo: Tim Clayton/Corbis/Getty
World number 1 Jannik the Sinner hello Rafael Nadal as more than a legendary champion.
Sinner sees Nadal, who announced he will retire at the age of 38 after next month’s Davis Cup final 8, as a humble fighter, a tennis teacher who mentored many young players and a role model and gift that continues to give the game.
More: Rafael Nadal announces his retirement from tennis
“Well, I think it’s tough news for the whole tennis world, and not just the tennis world,” Sinner told media in Shanghai after his 6-1, 6-4 victory at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. Daniel Medvedev today. “What I can say is, I’ve been very fortunate to know him as well, like, you know, on a human level, and he’s an incredible person.
“Of course, the player, we all saw how good he was as a player and, you know, the lessons he taught us, you know, the young players, how to behave on the field, how to handle situations on the field. field. court, difficult situations.
“Yeah, he gave us all a lot of excitement when we saw him play. And also to stay humble, you know, at the same time, not changing with success, picking the right people around him, having a wonderful family.”
In October 2020, Nadal rallied from an opening-set breakdown to stop Sinner 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-1 in a Roland Garros quarterfinal that ended after midnight in Paris. Since then, the pair have trained several times with Sinner serving as Nadal’s practice partner in Perth ahead of the 2021 Australian Open.
The king of clay predicted that the young Sinner would become a champion who would fight for Grand Slams and the No. 1 of the world and this prediction turned out to be prophetic.
Sinner said Nadal and fellow Big 3 champions Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer set a standard that will not be matched.
“I mean, what they’ve done the last few years has been amazing,” Sinner said of the Big 3. “There’s not a lot to say about the pressure, the pressure is always going to be there. But, you know, Duke speaking for myself, I think about myself, what do I need to do on the court, what do I need to improve, and that hopefully makes him better as a player, you know, and also a consistent player for years and years and years. ..
“So it’s amazing what they’ve accomplished, what they’ve done. There’s a lot that we can take from them. We can’t compare ourselves to them, you know, that’s impossible, especially at this point right now. I I think we were all lucky to see the Big 3, you know, playing tennis.
“And I consider myself very fortunate to know them as a person as well and, you know, to learn from them, and, yeah, I think that’s it.”
