Jannik Sinner claims ‘there is gap of improvement’ to be made despite ATP Finals victory
Jannik Sinner has become the first Italian in history to win the ATP Finals, but believes that there are still areas of his game that need work.
Sinner beat American No.1 Taylor Fritz, 6-4 6-4, in an identical result from their previous match at the round-robin stage to win the coveted title for the first time.
The World No.1 has not dropped a single set at the ATP Finals in Turin this year, as he becomes the youngest player in the Open Era to win the year-end title alongside both hard court Grand Slams in the same season.
Despite his dominance in 2024, Sinner explained after the match that he has even surprised himself and spoke about how special it is to win a title in-front of his home crowd for the first time.
“Honestly, I have surprised myself the whole year at times but in my mind I know how much work I put in and how many sacrifices I have made to be in this position,” said Sinner. “I just try to play in the present moment and it was a very special moment for me to win here – very important from my side. I know the season I’ve had.”
The 23-year-old continued, “I got here one week early trying to understand the speed of the court, trying to work out what works best for me here, so it’s a very special feeling, special moment. I played some very, very good tennis throughout this whole week and at times I couldn’t have played better. I’m very happy how I handled every situation on and off the court. Sharing this feel is amazing.
“It’s amazing. An amazing week. For me, it’s the first title in Italy. It means so much to me. I’m very, very happy about that, and it’s something very special. I just tried to understand whatever works best for each opponent; playing my best possible tennis. That was the key. It was a high-level tournament from my side. At times, I couldn’t play better.”
33 – Since the event’s change to best-of-three in 2008, Jannik Sinner (33) has now conceded the fewest games en route to the title at the ATP Finals, and the fewest overall since Ivan Lendl (27) in 1985 – excluding walkovers. Punctuation.#NittoATPFinals | @atptour @ATPMediaInfo pic.twitter.com/rE0TtyUaiW
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) November 17, 2024
Sinner has enjoyed a very dominant season in 2024, winning 70 of his 76 matches, and will finish the year nearly 4,000 ranking points ahead of World No.2 Alexander Zverev.
However, the US Open champion has revealed the parts of his game that he still believes need work, “I actually believe there is still gap of improvement. I mean, today I served very, very good at times, which was not the case throughout the whole tournament.
“There are still certain shots and points what I can make sometimes better, but are small details. The higher you play level-wise, the more details make the difference.”
Grazie Torino!!!! 🏆💪🏻💪🏻💚🤍❤️ pic.twitter.com/4ymysDFtiN
— Jannik Sinner (@janniksin) November 17, 2024
And Sinner still has the chance for even more success in 2024, as he leads Italy at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga this week as the defending champions.
Inside the baseline…
The level of competition has been so high in Turin, but it has never felt like anyone other than Jannik Sinner would win the title and that has very much been the feeling about most tournaments in 2024. The fact that Sinner now sits aside only Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer as the only player in the Open Era to win the Australian Open, US Open and the ATP Finals in the same year just goes to show how legendary of a season this has been. This is even more remarkable given all the off-court issues he has faced and still faces regarding his doping case, and the fact that he still is looking to improve should be quite scary for the rest of the field.
READ MORE – Davis Cup Finals 2024 ‘Final 8’: A guide to Rafael Nadal’s farewell
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