Sinner: "It's incredible, but I can still improve. I can't wait to get back to work."

© AFP

Guillaume Nonque

le 08/09/2024 à 23h07

3 min to read

Agassi Fritz Sinner US Open

Jannik Sinner won his first US Open and second Grand Slam title on Sunday. The Italian clearly dominated American Taylor Fritz in the final (6-3, 6-4, 7-5). The world No.1 was understandably delighted at the end of the match, even if he still wants to improve. He also dedicated his title to his aunt, who was ill. Here's his full speech (see video below).

Interviewer:
"It's time to listen to the champion, Jannik Sinner. Your first US Open, the first Italian to win this title in history. What does it mean to you, Jannik?"

Jannik Sinner:
"Yes, hello everyone, first of all, and I'd like to start with Taylor. I know how hard he works. You're doing a wonderful job. Congratulations to you, Taylor, and the whole team. It's a pleasure to see you on big stages like this, and I'm sure you're going to play a lot of them. So I wish you all the best for the future."

This title means a lot to me, because the last period of my career wasn't easy. There's my team who support me every day, the people who are close to me. I love tennis, I train a lot for this kind of milestone, but I also know that off the court, there's a life.

I'd like to dedicate this title to my aunt, because she's really not feeling well health-wise. I don't know how much longer I'll have her in my life. It's so nice to still be able to share positive moments with her. She's been a very important person in my life, and still is.

If there was one wish I could make, I'd wish for everyone to be healthy, but unfortunately that's not possible."

Interviewer:
"You came into this tournament saying, 'I'm not sure I have very high expectations'. For someone who has low expectations of his performance, how did you manage to do that in two weeks?"

Jannik Sinner:
"I think I did pretty well. We progressed day by day, trying to train well, even on days off. We believed in ourselves, which is the most important thing.

I realized, especially in this tournament, how important the mental part is in this sport, and I think in all sports.

I'm very happy and proud to share this moment with my team. I know there are a lot of people watching from home, but I'd like to thank everyone for being so fair in this incredible stadium. It's been an immense pleasure."

Interviewer:
"Finally, Dr. Heinlein said it, you're number one in the world by far. You've won two major titles this year. To put the difficulty of the task into perspective, you're only the fourth man in over 50 years to win your first two major titles in the same calendar year.
You've had a hell of a year.

How would you express it? How would you describe this year?"

Jannik Sinner:
"Incredible. I've achieved so many important victories this season. I started with Australia, where I played very well, which has given me confidence so far. But the work never stops.

I know I can still improve, as we saw today, on certain points, but you have to be proud of what you've got. You've got to go for it, you've got to work for it. So I'm looking forward to continuing the process.
Thank you very much."