Sinner: 'It doesn't weigh me down, but I have worked hard to get where I am and the work never ends'

Stylish and casual in blue trousers, suede loafers, and cream ribbed choker (Gucci of course), Jannik Sinner does not have the serious, focused air of post-match press conferences. Nor does he show any sign of the malaise that precluded him from the final against Alcaraz in Cincinnati. The atmosphere is light and pleasant on the 18th floor of the Core, an exclusive club on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, where the world number one announced on Friday evening his partnership with Explora Journeys, the luxury ocean travel brand of the Msc group for which he has become global brand ambassador, confirming that tennis is the pivot of a career around which much else revolves. The sponsorships, the real estate, the advertisements, the foundation and - as in this case - the role of ambassador (it already happens for Gucci, Rolex, De Cecco). The travel front was uncovered in the 'Sinner universe': what more appropriate place than New York, with the Us Open at the start (where he is defending champion), for the baptism of another union at the centre of which - he emphasised - is the search for well-being and that fundamental balance even off the court in the life of a tennis player? A condition that he will experience immediately after the American Slam, when he will take a few days off enjoying a cruise in the Mediterranean, he added smiling, while Explora's president, Anna Nash, recalled how Jannik embodies the values of the group, from authenticity to excellence. Applause, toasts, finger food and lots of mobile phones up in the air taking photos and videos, in the presence of the full team - coaches Simone Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill, manager Alex Vittur, athletic trainer Umberto Ferrara, press office Fabienne Benoit - before a chat in a quiet lounge of the club. Where Sinner told his full story, showing his usual prudence and thoughtfulness when talking about tennis, and a natural simplicity in dwelling on everyday life. A bit like his game: composed, clean, careful in the geometries, never irrational.

The training sessions of the past few days have confirmed that he is well, he has recovered after the virus that ruined the epilogue of the Masters Mille in Ohio, as he had also said on the Media Day of the Us Open (where he will make his debut on Tuesday 26th against the Czech Vit Kopriva). But he is not interested in participating in the ongoing debate about the circuit being overcrowded with tournaments, at prohibitive hours, at non-stop pace: 'There are dynamics behind it that we probably don't know. Right now it's useless to talk about it, some things work, some things don't... you can't achieve perfection and we tennis players have different points of view. In any case, making a tournament is our choice, I decided based on what can help me for the future, at the same time it is true that I am in a different position. We will never all get along". His is the perspective of someone who has made an extraordinary journey in just a few years, with twenty Atp titles to his credit, including four Slams: he will defend the American one in the next two weeks, in the New York where in 2019 he celebrated his eighteenth birthday by reaching the main draw for the first time from the qualifiers (he lost in the first round to Stan Wavrinka, whom he would soon give no chance).

The thirteen-year-old boy who had gone from Sesto Pusteria to Bordighera to realise the potential of his tennis in Riccardo Piatti's academy has become a champion: an ascending parabola beyond all expectations. He fondly recalls the times in Liguria, the not easy adaptation, the first two years lived with Bosnian coach Luka Cvjetkovic, his wife, two children and their dog: 'I soon felt part of the family, like an older brother. I have one (Mark, ed.) and I know what that means, I wanted to be one for those two boys too'. An acquired nest, far from his parents and grandparents who pampered him with schnitzels and dumplings while his parents worked. An adolescence in which he was not able to live the experiences of his peers: did it not weigh on him? Never an afterthought? "No, honestly, because it was my choice, first of all; I could do it now, but I don't feel like it. Then I don't mind the life I'm leading, it all comes quite naturally to me: taking a plane, flying to another continent, I'm used to it by now. Nor have I missed that aspect,' he cuts in short.

On this road built with meticulousness and tenacity repaid by a progression in results, season after season, there must have been a key moment, a success that marked the change of pace and made him say 'then I can really do it'... 'I think it's not just a game. There are a lot of things to consider, I've worked so hard to get where I am, at the same time it's a job that never ends,' he comments calmly, and when citing the exploit in the second half of 2023, with the somewhat watershed title in Beijing (he won in the final against Medvedev, for the first time after six defeats: he hasn't stopped since), he reiterates that doing so means looking down at 'the results' behind which 'there are at least six months' of effort. Then of course, if 'you look at the tournament itself, yes, it's true; right before that the finish in Toronto, the first Masters Mille, was also important, then I started to win other tournaments the following year (starting with the first epic Slam, in Australia, ed.), always taking a step forward in terms of quality'.

Gradually, a crucial weapon emerged, beyond the strokes, the power, the ability to defend to the limit, the constant improvements in the serve: mental strength, coolness in the important points, the ability to handle pressure. A plus that many of his colleagues cannot count on. How did you achieve this condition? How much does the mental coach weigh in your training? 'It weighs a lot, nothing is accidental,' he answers without hesitation. 'Everyone works to improve themselves: to get to the point where I am, I had to accept some of my flaws and I struggled in the beginning'. Which ones, Jannik? "Not being patient, wanting everything right away. That wasn't the solution, you have to insist on every detail and then slowly put the pieces of the puzzle together. Which is not to say that now, as a number one, the work is complete, there is still more to do, but the progress is imperceptible, sometimes you don't seem to see it and instead you are moving forward. For sure the mental coach is important, I've been working with Riccardo (Ceccarelli, ed) for many years, it's something I wanted to start from because I felt there was a small deficit.