'Too Early' To Call Jannik Sinner Italy's Best Player Ever Says Legend
News
Jannik Sinner broke an Italian record at the Australian Open, but two-time French Open champion Nicola Pietrangeli does not think it is enough to call him the best player in the country's history.
For decades, Pietrangeli was the only Italian tennis player to win multiple Grand Slams. He claimed back-to-back French Open titles in 1959 and 1960, and it seemed like no other man or woman from Italy would break that number in his lifetime.
However, Sinner has achieved that after an incredible last 12 months. The ATP world No. 1 won his maiden Grand Slam at last year's Australian Open before beating Taylor Fritz in the US Open final a few months later.
Sinner defended his Australian Open title with a straight-set victory against Alexander Zverev in the final. That was the 23-year-old's third Grand Slam, eclipsing Piertrangeli's number and making him the only player in Italian history to reach that number.
However, in an interview with Adnkronos News Agency, Pietrangeli refused to accept that Sinner is the best player Italy has produced. He is happy Sinner broke his record but thinks calling him the best is premature.
"It’s right that he overtook me, records are made to be broken. But the accounts are done in the end. I wish him with all my heart that he would do even better. I was scary on the court, but not to everyone like him."
"I don’t know if he’s the strongest Italian tennis player ever, he’s 23 years old. We’ll see when he’s 30. Now everyone’s talking about Sinner, but until two years ago no one even knew who he was. At the end of his career, we’ll see if he’s been the best Italian tennis player ever, anything can still happen."
The comments from Pietrangeli might surprise some. Sinner is also the only Italian player ever to become the world No. 1. Having the record for the most Grand Slams and being the sole person from Italy to reach No. 1 is a pretty strong argument in his favor.
Although Pietrangeli's point about waiting to see what he achieves in the future is understandable, Sinner still holds those records for now. Therefore, he is unquestionably the most statistically successful Italian player currently.
Pietragneli also discussed Sinner's recent triumph in the Australian Open. The two-time French Open winner revealed that he correctly predicted the final score and thinks the match was easy for his younger compatriot.
"It was a walk in the park for Sinner. He’s now walking around the court. I said last year that this season Sinner will have to give his opponents an advantage. No one is at his level, and it’s not their fault. He’s too strong. I wrote that this final would end in three sets 6-3, 7-6, 6-3, and so it was. I also predicted the result."
"I also predicted the result, I expected it. Because he’s too strong. I think he could lose a match only if he slept badly or is feeling unwell. I don’t know what he can improve, he’s already number one in the world. You can see that he’s having fun on the court and that’s important."
