"Getting there is easy, maintaining yourself is difficult": Italian tennis legend warns Jannik Sinner of complacency after becoming world number one

Italian tennis legend Nicola Pietrangeli has warned young Jannik Sinner about the difficulty of keeping the number one spot in the ATP rankings.

The 22-year-old is already regarded as one of the most highly-rated players in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category, along with Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz.

Sinner is set to become the world number one in men’s tennis when the rankings are updated at the end of the ongoing French Open. Serbia’s legendary tennis star Novak Djokovic withdrew from the competition just before the start of the quarterfinal at Roland Garros because of a knee injury.

Italian tennis legend Pietrangeli, while talking to Italian sports daily Corriere dello Sport as quoted by Tennis 365 where warned Sinner not to become complacent after getting to the very top in men’s tennis as it is easier to reach there but harder to maintain it.

“Now that he is No 1 everyone will want to beat Sinner,” he said. “He will feel the enormous satisfaction of having succeeded, but from now on he will only have enemies. “Getting there is easy, maintaining yourself is difficult: let’s hope it stays there. Jannik is obliged to win, but he has his feet on the ground.”

Sinner has been having a fabulous season, winning the Australian Open, an ATP event in Rotterdam, and the Miami Open. In the ongoing French Open, the reigning world number two booked his place in the semifinal after beating Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, 7-6.

In the last-four clash, he will face Spain’s Alcaraz, who booked his place in the semifinal after beating Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6, 6-4.

This will be the ninth time both players will face off in professional tennis. In the previous eight outings, Sinner and Alcaraz won on four occasions each.