It has been a frustrating few weeks for Jannik Sinner, as the Italian suffered his fourth consecutive first round defeat, this time at the Truist Atlanta Open on Wednesday.
However, the 19-year old has not let his string of losses deter him, displaying a level-headedness and maturity that belies his young age and experience.
“How do I stay positive? It’s very easy. I’m 19 years old, turning 20 this year, which I think a lot of people forget,” Sinner said. “For me personally, it doesn’t matter if I win now at 20 or at 23. I think our goal is to become a great player when I am around 23, 24 years old. The process we are doing is for the long-term.”
Furthermore, Sinner revealed the importance of tennis in his life and stated that win or lose, his goal is to learn and get better from each experience.
“I am playing tennis a lot, enjoying playing tennis, working physically and mentally to be in the best possible position when I am around 23 years old. I don’t know if it’s going to be when I am 23 or 22 or maybe already next week, you never know,” Sinner said. “But what I think is very important [is] to think back where I come from. The people who stayed very close to me know how important tennis is for me, which I think will be my life for the next hopefully 20 years.
“I am just trying to enjoy every journey. It just started, so hopefully I can still show some good tennis in the future.”
The 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals champion will be competing at the Citi Open Washington, which is the next tournament in the series of events leading up to the US Open.