Jannik Sinner holds up the trophy. © APA / VAUGHN RIDLEY

Done! Sinner crowns dream week with title

Many experts have been predicting for years that Jannik Sinner will win major titles in the future. The 21-year-old has not followed up these words with actions – until now. On Sunday, South Tyrol's child prodigy won his first Masters 1000 title in Toronto and finally broke into the tennis elite.

August 14, 2023

From: leo

In Miami in 2021, Hubert Hurkacz prevented Jannik Sinner from being able to call himself Masters champion at the age of just 19. A lot has happened in the Sesto native's tennis career since then: he has moved into the top 10 in the world rankings, reached a Grand Slam semi-final and changed coaches. He has matured, as a person and as a tennis player, and now has his first major title under his belt. The final against Alex De Minaur (ATP 18) was a masterpiece, a show of strength from a player who will be number 6 in the world from next week. The 6:4, 6:1 final result perfectly reflects the balance of power on the pitch.

Anyone who wins four times in a row against the same opponent and only loses one set is also the big favorite in the fifth duel. It takes great mental strength to deal with this pressure and not let it inhibit you. Sinner proved this evening that he has also made big steps forward in this aspect. As he converted his second match point, you could see the weight lifted from his shoulders. He had achieved what he had been working towards for many years. However, the title is not the goal of his journey. Rather, it is a starting point, an incentive to hunt for even bigger titles.

Sinner is the better player

The match in the Canadian city of over a million started as expected. Both players had problems with their serve games, which was mainly due to the return quality of their opponent. Sinner was ahead with a break twice, and De Minaur promptly hit back. When the Australian served against losing the set at 4:5, the fans could guess what would follow: After all, the Sexten native, who is celebrating his 22nd birthday on Wednesday, had both against Matteo Berrettini and in the duels with Gael Monfils and Tommy Paul got the decisive break in the tenth game.

After winning the starting set, the South Tyrolean's arm ran more freely. He felt that De Minaur could not harm him. With his cat-like return qualities, powerful groundstrokes and remarkable variations, he left his opponent the role of an extra: He was quickly ahead with two breaks in set number 2. When he served at 5-1 and had match point, his nerves briefly flared when he committed a double fault. A few seconds later, however, a forehand from the Australian flew into the net. It was the culmination of a week that Sinner will never forget.