"Is €70 million a year not enough?” - Jannik Sinner's Monaco residence berated by Italian journalist

Numerous recognisable sports names, including from the realm of tennis, have re-located to Monaco for a variety of reasons. World number one Jannik Sinner is one of them to have done so, but his decision to move to Monte-Carlo has been questioned and slammed by an Italian journalist with comparisons to his rival Carlos Alcaraz made in the process.

Monaco is a very common place to reside. The tax haven is the most commonly noted benefit to living in the small country nestled in the south of France. Sinner has been a resident and a tax resident since moving to the Principality of Monaco.

Among other reasons, it is a good place to be located and call home when the European clay swing commences. He does not have to travel far for the Monte-Carlo Masters with it also very close to the likes of Madrid, Rome, Paris and London when making the switch to grass. The abundance of European tournaments continue at the end of the year when the 24-year-old competes in the Paris Masters followed by the ATP Finals on his native home soil in Turin.

The practice facilities are also noted as a factor. Just 30 minutes away is the Piatti Tennis Academy in Bordighera in Italy. In recent times, Sinner has since switched to the world class facilities on hand in Monaco, a very handy thing to have on his door step.

The main reason cited for Sinner's move to Monaco by many was due to taxes, overlooking the other reasons for the switch. The five-time Grand Slam champion had grown up in Innichen, a small village in the north of Italy right on the Austrian border, with around 3,000 people living there.

Compared to this, some tennis players stay put in their home towns. Alcaraz, for example, still resides with his parents while continuing to use the training courts available in his native Murcia . Well-known Italian journalist Luca Sommi noted this in his argument when touching on Sinner's move to Monaco.

“It annoys me a lot too. But sometimes I ask myself the same question," he said on a television show. "You earn €70 million a year, but why don’t you do like Alcaraz, who has kept his tax residence in Spain? Is €70 million a year not enough?”

Sinner has his reasons. He previously par-took in an interview with L'Equipe where he explained the thinking behind the switch. “I chose Monaco for the peace and quiet I find here: I can go to a restaurant or do my shopping without anyone paying attention to me, and that’s exactly what I need. I must also say that the facilities—tennis courts, gyms—are perfect. Of course, I miss my family. My grandparents are getting older, and I’d like to be able to visit them more often. But if I had stayed home to train, I wouldn’t have been in the optimal conditions to become the best player I could be.”

The privacy factor is a huge boost among what training facilities are on his doorstep. While there are negative points noted by the Italian, this seems to be a good move for his tennis career. The results back it up.

He has won the last six Masters 1000 tournaments, including a maiden title in the Monte-Carlo Masters, as well as defending his Wimbledon title. That was his most recent expedition. While there have been negatives along the way, specifically at Roland Garros, for the most part Sinner has been on top of the world while his nemesis, Alcaraz, haplessly watches on with a wrist injury forcing him away from the action.

Sinner could be in seventh heaven is he wins the Canadian Open, the next tournament on his agenda. He has already won the most consecutive Masters 1000 tournaments, completing that in poetic style at the Rome Open to also be the youngest player ever to win the Golden Masters, and will be hopeful of continuing that streak. The Cincinnati Open follows before the big one at Flushing Meadows. Losing to Alcaraz in the final of the US Open last time out, Sinner is determined to make things right.