No one has had a more eventful week at the China Open than World No. 4 Jannik Sinner, who has gone from clutching his thigh to throwing up in a bin to finally holding up the champion’s trophy.
The Italian victor secured the title of ATP 500 champion with a decisive 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2) victory over World No. 3 Daniil Medvedev in Beijing.
Sinner’s speech at the ceremony
During the award ceremony, the two players took turns giving speeches, thanking everyone who had supported them throughout their matches. Sinner began his speech with a joke, saying, “Daniil, thanks for letting me win at least one match,” which elicited laughter from the audience.
This humorous remark refers to the fact that Sinner had lost six of his previous matches against Medvedev. Fortunately, the seventh time around proved to be the Charm for Sinners, as he finally triumphed over his Russian opponent, claiming his ninth career ATP title.
“We had some very tough battles, especially this year. Most importantly, thanks for making me a much better player. We have been practicing a lot for trying to beat you, so, thank you so much.”
Sinner then proceeded to express his gratitude towards his team.
“Obviously, my team we are working a lot, especially with my physical trainer, Umberto. Thank you so much everyone, and it’s very nice to share this moment with you. And also with the rest of the team who’s not here, but thank you so much, it means a lot.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV9UULfGpjs
Sinner’s team
Prior to the match, Sinner’s coach, Simone Vagnozzi, explained how they observed and trained Sinner in a press conference.
“Normally we are two coaches in the team, me and Darren Cahill. Sometimes we are together, sometimes we are alone with Jannik. Normally I take care of the technical things on the pitch. Giacomo and Umberto do the physical things first, then we go on the pitch and we play for an hour and a half, usually with another player.” Vagnozzi said, as per Tennis World USA.
In addition, Vagnozzi revealed that they had implemented a playful monetary incentive system for Sinner.
“Jannik wants to win everything. Just yesterday we lost 20 dollars each, Darren and I, because he hit the ball with his serve on the first try. If we tell him: You get 20 euros if you do it the first time and 15 euros if you do it the second time! Jannik always does it the first time!”
The photo above is from a YouTube screengreab