Jannik Sinner is honest about Adriano Panatta

Jannik Sinner on Thursday will go after the all-time record for consecutive wins in a Masters 1000, to break Novak Djokovic’s record for good. The Azzurro, who has always said that he cares little for such records, sees the challenge with Andrey Rublev as another step toward a sixth consecutive Masters 1000, but above all toward the first victory of an Italian in Rome since Adriano Panatta.

When asked about the great former Azzurro himself, who won in 1976 in the final against Guillermo Vilas, Jannik Sinner candidly admitted that he had never seen a match of his: “Have I seen pictures of 1976 or how Adriano Panatta played? You get points from long ago on social media, but I never watched a Panatta match. Wooden racket? I was given one once but I don’t know where it went…”.

Sinner explained how in each match he experiments with something in preparation for Roland Garros: “I try to add a lot of little things, like going to the net. Physically I’m pretty good. My team and I are going in the right direction. There is already the new generation coming in, my job is to always stay in the present and understand where tennis is going. The serve will be a very important weapon in the future as well.”

Certifying Sinner’s extraordinary streak are the numbers: with the victory over Pellegrino, the South Tyrolean has now reached 31 consecutive Masters 1000 wins, equaling Djokovic’s record of 62 sets won and only two lost. But that’s not all: Sinner also boasts an impressive 58-0 mark in matches against tennis players outside the Top 50, never surrendering even once. And the Italian derbies? All won: 19 out of 19, with the last one just against Andrea Pellegrino.