BERGAMO, February 24, 2019
Jannik Sinner has capped his dream week in Bergamo by winning the 13th edition of the Internazionali di Tennis Trofeo Faip-Perrel. The 17-year-old wild card entry cruised past fellow Italian Roberto Marcora 6-3, 6-1 in Sunday’s singles final to lift his maiden trophy on the ATP Challenger Tour.
In front of more than 2,000 spectators inside the PallaAgnelli, Sinner set the tone early, breaking serve in the fifth and ninth game to clinch the opening set after 40 minutes. The teenager, who practices at the Piatti Tennis Center in Bordighera, also capitalized on his first chance of break in the second set and eventually served the match out after one hour and 11 minutes.
The winning moment! Maiden @ATPChallenger title for Jannik Sinner in Bergamo! 💪 pic.twitter.com/XEyZOvlo9V
— TennisTourTalk (@TennisTourTalk) 24. Februar 2019
“I felt good right from the beginning of the tournament,” Sinner told Tennis Tour Talk. “I also felt good ahead of the final. I returned well, as I was able to read his serve pretty well.”
Sinner arrived in Bergamo from an ITF World Tennis Tour event in Aktobe, Kazakhstan, had only hit the practice court for one hour before he beat Lucas Miedler in his first round match. Victories over No. 9 seed Salvatore Caruso, Viktor Galovic, No. 4 seed Gianluigi Quinzi and Tristan Lamasine followed. The sandy-haired youngster only lost two sets en-route to the title.
Sinner’s victory marks the seventh straight year a 17-year-old has won an ATP Challenger title. He is the first player born in 2001 to do so. “I noticed some of the records,” he said. “However, I actually don’t pay too much attention to these kind of things.”
Victory lap for the latest @ATPChallenger champion. Jannik Sinner takes a ride in Bergamo! 👏 pic.twitter.com/s0hSp85r9v
— Florian Heer (@Florian_Heer) 24. Februar 2019
Despite his triumph a big party is not going to happen. “No, I don’t think so,” Sinner said with a smile. “We will probably go to Trento tomorrow, which will be my next tournament.”
From skiing to career-high in tennis
Born and raised in midst of the Alps in South Tyrol Sinner became Italian giant slalom champion in skiing 2008 but eventually decided to focus on tennis and joined Piatti’s Academy at the age of 14. By lifting his first professional tennis title, Sinner collects €6,190 in prize money as well as 80 ATP ranking points. He will climb up 222 positions to reach a new career high World No. 324 on Monday.
“I focused on ranking positions in the past, but there is no profit in that. I want to play 70 to 75 matches this season. That’s the goal. To achieve it, I need to reach quarterfinals, semi-finals as well as finals.”
The first step has been made.
