Jannik Sinner, even Novak Djokovic tips his hat: "Impressive"
Novak Djokovic also takes his hat off to Jannik Sinner. The champion from Sesto Pusteria won the Internazionali d’Italia on Sunday, beating Casper Ruud in two sets in the final at the Foro Italico. It was a success that allows him not only to win his sixth consecutive Masters 1000, but to put each of the nine tournaments in the category on his trophy cabinet. Before him, only one tennis champion had managed to complete what is known in the jargon as the Career Golden Masters. That is precisely the formidable Serb, who on social media celebrated his young colleague.
“Congratulations Jannik, you are impressive. Welcome to this exclusive club,” Djokovic wrote in a post on his official profile’s Instagram Stories. In the image, he is seen flanking Sinner himself, as the two present above their respective heads a gold crown studded with diamonds and bearing the symbols of the nine tournaments that make up the Masters 1000. Next to his name the Serb has placed the numeral “2018,” alongside his young emulate “2026.” These are, of course, the years in which the two have completed their respective feats.
On the court, the 6-4, 6-4 final in one hour and forty-five minutes tells of a match that Ruud had tried to steer in his favor in the very first games, even leading 2-0. Having regained his usual automatisms, however, Sinner won six of the next eight games to close out the first set in 49 minutes, before ramping up in the second fraction. With this success, the South Tyrolean became the first Italian to win the Internazionali d’Italia since Adriano Panatta, who succeeded back in 1976, exactly 50 years ago. An achievement that is also worth another absolute record: Sinner became the first tennis player since Rafael Nadal, who succeeded in 2010, to conquer in the same year all three Masters 1000s on clay.
Not missing in the setting of the award ceremony was a moment capable of bringing a smile to the Foro Italico audience. Present at the trophy presentation were Panatta himself and President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella. Trying to express his emotions in front of the Head of State, Sinner addressed him by calling him “Mr. Mattarella” instead of President. Mattarella himself smiled in delight at the little slip of the tongue as the audience encouraged the champion not to be overwhelmed by emotion. It was a scene that confirmed how, off the field, Sinner remains a very normal guy, capable of getting as emotional and embarrassed as anyone else.
Emotions, for that matter, ran through the stands as well. In the very last bars of the final, Mom Siglinde – sitting next to Dad Hanspeter and Jannik’s girlfriend, Danish model Laila Hasanovic – lowered her head and covered her face, unable to contain her emotion. It was a gesture that did not go unnoticed by fans and came after an already emotionally intense tournament for the Sinner family: during the semifinal against Daniil Medvedev, which began on Friday evening and ended only on Saturday afternoon, Mrs. Siglinde had had to leave the Central Court after the second set, too tried to see her son physically suffer on the court.
The final also had a flavor of an all-Nordic challenge, with Ruud not refraining from some biting jokes against Italy after the match. “Congratulations to FIT, not only for Jannik but for the other incredible players you have. I can’t say the same for soccer at the moment. Sorry, but you lost to Norway and we have to make some jokes,” said the Scandinavian tennis player, referring to the Azzurri’s two defeats against his national team – the 3-0 loss in Oslo in June 2025 and the 4-1 loss in San Siro the following November – that had cost the national team its failure to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Sinner, caught on camera, could not hold back a bitter laugh at his colleague’s joke.
