MELBOURNE • Being labelled the next big thing in men's tennis can be a heavy burden for a teenager but Jannik Sinner wore the mantle lightly yesterday in winning his debut match at the Australian Open.
The shaggy-haired 18-year-old, who won the ATP's Next Gen championship in November, finished off Australian qualifier Max Purcell 7-6 (7-2), 6-2, 6-4 on Court 7 after his victory march was stalled in the third set by torrential rain that halted play on outside courts on Monday.
Sinner, who is from a German-speaking region in the Italian Alps, dealt with the rain break with the same minimum fuss that he has in managing his rapid rise in tennis.
"We waited here till 8pm (on Monday), so it's been a long day yesterday for me," he told reporters.
"I tried to go on court with a good mentality, and I started well. Yeah, that was the key."
Sinner, ranked 82nd in the world, underlined his enormous promise by upsetting No. 23 Australian Alex De Minaur in the Next Gen final in front of home fans in Milan.
Top players have been keen to get some practice hits with him, with Swiss master Roger Federer impressed by the Italian's groundstrokes and footwork.
"What I like about him is he's almost got the same speed of shot on forehand and backhand," the 20-time Grand Slam champion said at Melbourne Park on Monday.
"Then he can play again like most of the best movers in the world right now... I think we'll see so much more from him. He's an exciting guy and a super sweet kid."
Rafael Nadal has also taken note.
The Spanish world No. 1 said he had seen a lot of promising teenagers fail to live up to their potential, but he felt Sinner was different.
"Personally I think that this will not be the case because my feeling he's a humble guy, he's a hard worker. I practised with him the other day, he has a good character on court, he's positive," he said.
"He has everything to achieve a great tennis career. The only thing that he needs to do, in my opinion, is have the right people around."
Sinner is coached by compatriot Riccardo Piatti, who worked with Novak Djokovic along with other former top 10 players like Milos Raonic and Richard Gasquet.
Despite his rise up the rankings, he is in no hurry and knows time is on his side.
"I'm not thinking so much about the ranking. We are just trying to make match after match good, trying to play better, and then we will see," he added. "I don't want to (be) rushed about this."
REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
