Jimmy Connors recently highlighted the similarities between his attitude during a match and that of
Jannik Sinner.
Sinner had a lot of success at the
China Open in Beijing last week, defeating second seed Daniil Medvedev in the final for the first time to win the
ATP 500 title. This also saw him rise to World No. 4 in the ATP Ranking and pushed him forward in the race to the ATP Finals in Turin.
After this victory, tennis legend Connors compared his own attitude to that of the Italian player, particularly stressing their similarities in regard to determination.
Connors says Sinner doesn't get discouraged
In a recent episode of his Advantage Connors podcast, the eight-time Grand Slam champion said that the 22-year-old doesn't seem to get discouraged when he loses serve.
"If I ever lost my serve, discouraged was the last word I was going to get. You got to jump on your opponent right away, and Sinner seems to have that quality. You know, it bothers him," Connors said.
While reflecting on Sinner's recent breakthrough into the Top 4 of the ATP Ranking, the 71-year-old also said that he believed he has the potential to move up more in the future.
"Medvedev has been playing some pretty good tennis this year, especially on the hard courts. So to come out of there in straights and to win two tie breaks against Med, who's a pretty good tie-break player, is pretty strong, and I love seeing it. He's at a new all-time high, four, he's number four in the world. I think he's still got potential to move up more," he said.
Sinner recently competed at the Rolex Shanghai Masters and defeated Marcos Giron and Sebastian Baez before being eliminated in the Round of 16 after a three-set battle with Ben Shelton.