Nicolas Jarry stands in Sinner's way. © AFP / STRINGER

A tennis-crazy family: This is Sinner's first hurdle

When Jannik Sinner plays his first match at this year's Australian Open on Monday at 4 a.m. CET, he will be facing a familiar opponent on the other side of the net: Nicolas Jarry. The Chilean's family history is special because he was literally born with a tennis racket in his hand.

12 January 2025

From: leo

Like last year, Jannik Sinner decided not to play in a tournament before the first Grand Slam of the year. Instead, the Sextner player got the finishing touches in two exhibition matches he won against Alexei Poyprin and Stefanos Tsitsipas. The first tough test is scheduled for Monday in Melbourne. Then the 23-year-old will face Nicolas Jarry in his first round match on the Rod Laver Arena. The 29-year-old is just not seeded as he is ranked 34th in the world. The task is accordingly tricky for the South Tyrolean.

The man from Santiago has won three titles in his career - all on clay. At the end of May last year, after the final of the Masters 1000 tournament in Rome, he was number 16 in the world. However, he then lost six matches in a row. He waited a whole four months (!) for a win.

An up and down

The dry spell ended at the end of September in Chengdu, before he met Sinner a week later. In Beijing, the 2-meter giant won the first set, but then had to let the protégé of Simone Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill win 6:4, 3:6 and 1:6. It is therefore a fact that he can annoy Sinner with his powerful serve and his powerful forehand.

Jannik Sinner is ready for his first match. © APA/afp / YUICHI YAMAZAKI

Jarry comes from a tennis dynasty. His grandfather Jaime Fillol was once number 14 in the world and reached the quarter-finals of the US Open in 1975. He was the one who gave Jarry his first tennis racket. His uncle Martin Rodriguez also made it into the top 100 in the world rankings. Aunt Catalina Fillol is the director of the ATP 250 tournament in Santiago.

doping ban overcome

Like Sinner, the South American tested positive for doping. In 2020, Jarry was banned from racing for 10 months, although his appeal was successful. The substances Ligandrol and Stanozolol had entered his body through contamination.

One thing is certain: Sinner is the clear favorite on the night from Sunday to Monday. But his opponent will not hide - his experience and class are too great for that.