"I miss Roger Federer": Jannik Sinner regrets not playing tennis star but is excited to be part of new generation

Jannik Sinner revealed that he regrets not getting the chance to play Roger Federer on the ATP Tour but that he is also thrilled to be a part of the new generation in tennis.

World No. 4 Sinner has had a hugely successful season in 2023, winning the Canadian Masters as well as titles in Montpellier, Beijing, and Vienna. As a result, the Italian player broke into the top 5 in the ATP Ranking for the first time and qualified for the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

Moreover, the fact that Sinner is still just 22 years old means that he is often combined with Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune as the faces of tennis' next generation following the decades-long dominance of the Big Three. Nevertheless, Sinner reflected on a missed opportunity to play one of the sport's greatest stars.

Swiss tennis legend Federer retired from the sport in September 2022, after achieving 20 Grand Slam titles (including a record eight at Wimbledon), 103 ATP titles, 310 weeks as World No. 1, and two Olympic medals. In a recent interview, Sinner said that he regretted not playing against Federer during his professional career.

"I've had luck in life, but I miss Federer. I accept it, it's part of the game. Official matches are no longer possible, maybe in the future we will face off in an exhibition," he said. However, he added that he would not change his generation of tennis as he felt they offered a lot of new things for the sport.

"But I would not change. I am happy to be a tennis player of this time, the new generation offers different styles, characters, personalities," he continued. Other names often included in this new generation include Ben Shelton and Felix Auger-Aliassime, with some including slightly older stars such as Casper Ruud (24), as well as Stefanos Tsitsipas and Taylor Fritz (25).

Sinner will face Tsitsipas in his first Group Stage match at the ATP Finals. Later, he will face his other fellow Green Group members Novak Djokovic and Holger Rune.