Strong tennis instead of loud sayings: Sinner outplays everyone

Jannik Sinner shone twice this Friday in Australia: Firstly, he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas on the tennis court, and secondly, he skillfully played away all interference off the court.

10 January 2025

From: fop

In recent days, Australia's tennis bully Kyrgios has repeatedly fired poisonous arrows at Jannik Sinner. He hardly missed an interview or an appearance to fuel the South Tyrolean's open doping case. Now Sinner has responded twice.

On the one hand, Sinner dribbled around the statements of Kyrgios and other critics with regained ease. "I don't think I have to answer Nick or others. I know that I haven't done anything wrong," said the world number one, who wants to concentrate on "doing things that I enjoy, that distract me." The pending decision in his doping case is very preoccupying for him, but now, says Sinner, it's about "preparing for a Grand Slam tournament as best as possible. And just looking forward to great tennis matches."

"I don't think I have to answer Nick" Jannik Sinner

On the other hand, the 23-year-old also responded to all the noises from the surroundings on the tennis court on Friday. At the end of the "Australian Open Opening Week" he defeated Stefano Tsitsipas in an exhibition duel with 6:3, 7:6. Already on Tuesday he had defeated Alexey Popyrin (ATP 25) in two sets.

two-set win against Tsitsipas

Tsitsipas was one of only four players who were able to beat Sinner in the past calendar year. However, the world number eleven from Greece was far from repeating his success in Melbourne. Sinner dictated the game from the start and was particularly powerful on serve. Tsitsipas thwarted numerous break points, but was ultimately powerless against the Sextner's powerful baseline play.

Jannik Sinner is in good form. © ANSA / ROLEX DELA PENA

The first set lasted just over half an hour. The second set was much more balanced, but Sinner always had the right answers to his opponent's increasingly variable game and ultimately won the final tiebreak 7:5.

It starts on Monday

Sinner has clearly shown that all the unrest surrounding him leaves him cold as soon as he steps onto the blue court in the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. His first official tournament match in 2025 is scheduled for Monday. when he meets Niclas Jarry (ATP 34) in the first round of the Australian OpenAt that point at the latest, the focus will be exclusively on sports.