Jannik Sinner is the man of the hour in the tennis circus. © APA/afp / SANDER KONING

Jannik Sinner's coronation: tournament victory for the new number 3

The rise of Jannik Sinner apparently knows no limits. The Sesto superstar triumphed in the final in Rotterdam on Sunday – and picked up a special treat in the process.

18. February 2024

From: det

Jannik Sinner is the best tennis player in the world so far this year! Puschtra Bui competed in two tournaments on the ATP tour and was the shining winner both times. At the end of January, Sinner won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, and now he is also the King of Rotterdam. In the Dutch metropolis, the 22-year-old won his first ATP 500 tournament on Sunday by defeating Australian Alex De Minaur (ATP 11) 7:5, 6:4.

This was not only the 12th tournament success of Jannik Sinner's career, but also the triumph that lifted him to position 3 in the world rankings. When the ATP computer spits out the updated list tomorrow, Monday, Sinner will overtake the Russian Daniil Medvedev and be in the top 3 in the world for the first time.

historical event

The South Tyrolean would have moved up to third place even in the event of a defeat, but not tomorrow, but only on Monday in a week, because Medvedev only then loses the necessary points. In any case, Sinner's achievement is historic: Since the ATP world rankings were introduced in 3, no Azzurro has managed to break into the top three.

Sinner took victory in Rotterdam. © APA/afp / SANDER KONING

Now only Carlos Alcaraz (2nd) and Novak Djokovic (1st) are ahead of the exceptional South Tyrolean athlete. The Pusterer's numbers are impressive. He has been unbeaten for exactly 77 days, his last defeat was on December 3, 2023, when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the final of the ATP Finals. Sinner's incredible triumphal march began at the beginning of the year, which has now reached another high point with the achievement of the new Best Ranking.

De Minaur demands a lot from Sinner

However, winning the final against Alex De Minaur was a tough job. The Australian proved to be an extremely unpleasant opponent who impressed with a great fighting heart. He fended off four set points from Sinner in the first section and instead got the break to make it 5:5, which could have given the game a different turn. But the Sexten player reacted in the style of a champion - i.e. with the immediate re-break - and confidently bagged the set.

A worthy opponent in the final: Alex De Minaur. © APA/afp / SANDER KONING

Although the first serve didn't always work as expected that day and Sinner also suffered a break in the second set, the South Tyrolean showed his full form in the crucial moments. In an extremely competitive encounter, Sinner finally converted his match point to win the tournament after 2.04 hours.

Now we're off to California

The new number 3 in the world now continues in the USA, more precisely in California: the first Masters 6 tournament of the year is taking place in Indian Wells from March 1000th. Sinner wants to cause a sensation there too.