Jannik Sinner will become world number one on Monday, and he reacted to the news in real-time after his win against Grigor Dimitrov at the 2024 Roland Garros.
As the Italian and Dimitrov battled in the third set of their match, the news of Novak Djokovic withdrawing from the French Open due to a knee injury came down. That ensured that Sinner would become world number one under any circumstance, but of course, his goal is also winning the trophy in Paris, so it didn't affect the fact that he won that match.
The 22-year-old will see the number one next to his name on Monday, but he wasn't particularly thrilled with how it came to be. He could have won it on the court by winning the tournament, but with Djokovic withdrawing, it doesn't really matter if he wins or not.
The Serbian was the defending champion, and because of that, he lost a sizeable amount of points by pulling out ahead of his quarter-final match. That's what ensured the change at the top, but the Italian was aware that it's also a reward for all his hard work, as he told the Tennis Channel after his match.
"It represents a great result of work ethic. Me and my team, it was one of our goals this year. The most important goal is to improve as a player and person. Surrounding myself with great people. And that’s it, no? I think I can be happy and pleased with what I’m doing and what my team is doing."
"Just looking forward to the semis at the moment. It’s for sure not the way I wanted to become world number one, with Novak retiring. The last period I played really good tennis. I’m happy to be in that position. It’s something new coming up for me. It’s something good. I’m very happy."
Winning Roland Garros would be a way to 'confirm' himself as world number one, as that would be the second Grand Slam he won this year. Going two for two at the biggest events in the calendar is hard to shoot down, as even his detractors would have to admit that he has been the best this year.
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