Jannik Sinner is still just 23 years old, but a former player has already predicted how many Grand Slams he will have when his career ends.
Sinner began 2024 with no Grand Slam titles and needed to prove he could win on the most significant stages. However, the young star showed encouraging signs at the end of 2023 by helping Italy secure the Davis Cup title, beating Novak Djokovic on the way to glory.
The Italian entered the Australian Open with increased expectations on his shoulders after the improvements he made in the closing stages of the previous season, and Sinner lived up to the hype.
A maiden Grand Slam title was secured when Sinner recovered from two sets down against Daniil Medvedev in the final. He had beaten 10-time champion in Melbourne Djokovic in the semifinal.
Sinner's other Grand Slam triumph came at this year's US Open. There was even more focus on Sinner ahead of the year's final Grand Slam after the news of his two positive tests for a banned substance became public a few days before the event began.
However, the 23-year-old showed outstanding mental strength to reign supreme in New York. His Grand Slam tally was increased with a victory in the final against the home favorite, Taylor Fritz.
Sinner also had outstanding success outside of Grand Slams this season, including winning the ATP Finals on home soil in Turin and claiming three Masters 1000 titles. This ensured he ended as the ATP year-end No. 1 with a significant points lead over his rivals.
A memorable season for Sinner ended with his helping Team Italy retain the Davis Cup title. His win against Tallon Griekspoor confirmed a comprehensive 2-0 victory in the final against the Netherlands.
Feliciano Lopez, who holds the record for the most consecutive Grand Slam appearances in tennis history, spoke to Corriere Dello Sport about Sinner's season, saying his insane achievements during it are beyond logic.
"This year he has had a season beyond all logic, winning an unreal number of matches and, above all, losing only six over the course of the season. There is no doubt, he deserves to be number 1 in the world."
Lopez believes it is hard to predict how many Grand Slam titles Sinner or his young rival Carlos Alcaraz will win, but the Spaniard still estimated anyway. He predicted Sinner would win the same number as Pete Sampras.
"If there’s one thing more impressive than the intensity of his tennis, it’s his ability to keep the bar high. Everyone else has their ups and downs, but he doesn’t. If I think about it, two years ago he was a different player and today he still wants to improve, so I imagine how he could play if he continued like this."
"It’s hard to say. I’m often asked about Alcaraz,” Lopez said. “He’ll definitely be in double figures, let’s say 14."
Although a respected figure in tennis, the retirement ceremony that Lopez, the Davis Cup Finals tournament director, prepared for Rafael Nadal was criticized by many figures. For instance, Carlos Moya called it shabby.
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