From “overtaking” Panatta to comparing himself to Agassi: Jannik Sinner doesn’t hide

Jannik Sinner enjoys qualifying for Wimbledon semifinals

On the sidelines of his success against Roman Safiullin, Jannik Sinner commented with ‘Sky Sport’ on a historic achievement, making him the third Italian ever to reach the semifinals at Wimbledon after Nicola Pietrangeli and Matteo Berrettini. Surpassed, in that sense, even a tennis sacred monster like Adriano Panatta, who on the London grass went as far as the quarterfinals (in 1979), but no further.

“Do I make history? I’m making it for myself,” said the South Tyrolean, “now I feel good playing on grass, there is a combination of factors that starts to make a difference, and thanks to that I was able to get such a great result. But it’s not over.”

“I play with a lot of pressure against really difficult players,” Sinner added, “you should not underestimate Safiullin because because whoever reaches the quarters in a tournament like this, but also the eighth round, it means that he is a great player. For my part, I’m glad I managed the difficult moment; in the past I struggled more. I’ve definitely learned from the disappointment of Roland Garros, I’ve always been someone who tries to understand from his mistakes: of course, I need to find more continuity and I don’t deny that there are many things to improve on, but I feel that I’m doing it.”

Sinner also commented on the comparison with Andre Agassi made by Paolo Lorenzi: “Darren (Cahill, ed.) was Agassi’s coach, it’s normal,” Sinner said, smiling. “Okay, it’s true that we studied Agassi’s backhand but the comparison is too challenging, Agassi was on another level. Maybe some similarities are there but I’m still learning, I have to play in so many other situations and figure out how to react best.”