Sinner, the lucky world No. 1: "My body seems to be getting stronger and stronger".

It was with a smile on his face that Jannik Sinner learned, at the end of his largely dominated quarter-final against Grigor Dimitrov (6-2, 6-4, 7-6), that he would be the new world number 1 on Monday. After a standing ovation from the French public and the raising of a few Italian flags, he explained: "I'm very happy with this achievement. It's a lot of work that we do every day. It's a daily routine. I'm obviously happy to have achieved this ranking".

It's a source of pride not only for him, but also for Italy. Indeed, this Roland Garros was an opportunity to give greater visibility to the rise of young Italian players. While Jannik Sinner remains the legitimate standard-bearer, he does not want to overshadow his compatriots whose fiery spirit has been praised: Musetti, Arnaldi, Sonego, Paolini and Cocciaretto.

Be that as it may, for the first time in tennis history, the world number 1 is an Italian player, and it looks set to stay that way: "I think it's a good thing for Italy. We're a great country with great coaches and great players. I'm happy to be part of this Italian movement.

People are starting to play tennis more and more, which is great. I think that's the most important thing. Everyone is doing their best."

As ambitious as he is patriotic, Sinner explains, "We have a lot of tournaments. We have junior tournaments, Futures and Challengers, and we have big tournaments, ATP tournaments, ATP finals in Turin and Rome, and we had the Next Gen in Milan. I think Italy deserves it because it's a great country".

Having conceded just one set since the start of the Grand Slam (to Moutet in the Round of 16), the Italian is a firm favourite for the title. But it wasn't meant to be. Injured in Madrid, he arrived in Paris lacking rhythm. I came here with some doubts, physical doubts, and my body seems to be getting stronger day by day, which was my main objective in coming here".

Even if clay is not his preferred surface, the Transalpine is surely making progress towards Friday's semi-final, which will pit him against a player more accustomed to playing on clay, Carlos Alcaraz: "It's a surface where I sometimes have a lot of trouble, especially at the beginning. We've seen that in recent years. I'm even happier to be in the semi-finals.