"Jannik Sinner is a complete player, he will have a great future" - Adriano Panatta
Jannik Sinner has every possibility of becoming the next men's singles Grand Slam champion from Italy, believes compatriot Adriano Panatta.
Sinner has been in red-hot form this year, reaching the Masters 1000 Miami Open final most recently, where he fell to Daniil Medvedev after overpowering then World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals.
While he is yet to win a title in 2023, the Italian has one other runner-up finish to his name, doing so at the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam, where he fell to Daniil Medvedev in the final. A string of good results of late have helped the 21-year-old break into the top 10 of the ATP rankings once again.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Ubitennis, 1976 French Open champion Panatta, the only Italian man to have won a Major title in the Open Era so far, went on to hail the World No. 9 as a "complete" player and predicted him to have a "great future."
"I don't know if we have found a new Panatta because 50 years have passed, but we have certainly found a new champion. Jannik Sinner is a complete player, among the young emerging players. He will have a great future. He's a champion, that's for sure," Adriano Panatta said.
As for what made himself so successful, Panatta reckoned it was a combination of his own madness, awareness and tennis knowledge, not to mention the component of luck that brought it all together.
"30% awareness, 30% knowledge and 40% madness , but I consider myself lucky, not completely successful, because it would be arrogant and presumptuous to say so. Maybe more winner than loser," Panatta added.
Jannik Sinner set to begin action at the Monte-Carlo Masters
Following his impressive run at the Miami Open, Jannik Sinner will be back in action at the Monte-Carlo Masters this week, where he is the seventh seed. The Italian has been handed a bye in the first round and will take on the winner of the clash between David Goffin and Diego Schwartzman in the second round.
A potential quarterfinal clash against World No. 1 Novak Djokovic awaits the 21-year-old, while 10th seed Hubert Hurkacz is expected to be the likely third-round opponent. The World No. 9 reached the quarterfinals in Monte-Carlo last year and is defending 180 points in the season's first clay Masters 1000 event.